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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27141277">Scarlet Sunrise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redlightsdistrict/pseuds/Redlightsdistrict'>Redlightsdistrict</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>LoveLink (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, F/M, Murder Mystery, OOC, Smut, Vampires</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:08:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,940</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27141277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redlightsdistrict/pseuds/Redlightsdistrict</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Julien decided to invite a human girl on a date, he couldn’t imagine how the night will end...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Julien Alexandre/MC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I See Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is an AU fic, not following the canon storyline whatsoever but I hope you guys will enjoy it 💋 </p><p>🌹Reddit: redlightsdistrict<br/>🌹Discord: Kat/redlightsdistrict#0642</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p><br/>Julien threw his long dark hair out of his face with an elegant movement of his aristocratic fingers and leaned across the table, pressing his chest into the heavy wooden top. His icy-grey eyes burned into the scared blue, and his lips curled upwards, baring his razor-sharp fangs.</p><p>“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he drawled in his low, velvety voice. “It’s not painful. Just a tiny bite…”</p><p>The girl in front of him swallowed hard, staring in his eyes blankly, her face drained of color.</p><p>“I-I don’t know… this… is this real?”</p><p>He rolled eyes in exasperation and slumped against the back of the seat. He glanced around the crowded bar, bored and somewhat disappointed. First, they squeal about their undying love for vampires, and then they sit there stinking of fear, unable to hold a conversation or recognize a joke. God, he missed the Middle Ages…</p><p>His gaze stumbled into someone’s body, Julien felt it almost physically. He slowly dragged his glance up, following the lines of long legs, round hips hugged by tight, sparkly black dress, narrow waist, and full breasts, until finally, his eyes met an inspecting stare of the girl standing by the bar. She raised an eyebrow slightly as if asking what the hell he was gaping at.</p><p>He tuned out everything else, focusing on the stranger across the bar. <em>A human</em>, he recognized immediately. He could feel the steady beat of her heart and smell the scent of her body mixed with her perfume in an addictive fragrance. He sniffed the air, filling his nose with the smell of black licorice and sandalwood mixed with the creamy scent of her skin and the salty metallic of her blood.</p><p>“Excuse me, sweetheart,” he got up to his feet and snapped his fingers before his date’s face as the girl seemed too distracted to notice his movement.</p><p>She looked at him with the same scared expression, and the man sighed: this stupid idea has been doomed from the start. If anyone knows he registered on a stupid dating app, they won’t let him forget about it for at least a century.</p><p>He left his unlucky date alone at the table and went straight to the girl at the bar, finally caring to notice her long fire-red hair and the emerald color of her eyes and snake tattoos on her arms. She rolled her eyes as he approached and turned back to the bar, burying her face in the book that was lying next to her half-finished drink.</p><p>“Hello,” he made sure his voice sounded as seductive as possible, knowing how that tone of voice usually affected humans.</p><p>She looked over her shoulder and stared blankly at him for a long, uncomfortable moment before finally shrugging. “Not interested.”</p><p>The redhead turned away and grabbed her drink, considering the conversation finished while he just stood there, dumbfounded. Now, that humans knew about vampires and lived side by side with them, his charming ability wasn’t as strong as a couple of centuries before but not to the point a simple human could just turn him down like that.</p><p>“Why are you still breathing at my neck?” the girl’s annoyed voice snapped the vampire out of his trance, and he slid on the free seat next to her.</p><p>“Why so hostile?” Julien signaled the barman to pour him whatever she was drinking and turned his attention back to the stranger. “I only want to know your name.”</p><p>She rolled her eyes so hard he could almost hear it.</p><p>“What’s in a name?” she said and took another sip, unwilling to continue, but he wasn’t about to give up so easily.</p><p>“You’re not even slightly… concerned?” he showed her his fangs. “Talking to a vampire like that?”</p><p>He expected anything but a fit of laughter that she got caught in. She almost spilled the drink, her entire body shaking, and had to grab on his knee not to fall off the barstool. He stared at her blankly, waiting for the strange girl to calm down.</p><p>“Oh god,” she said through giggles. “That was actually funny.”</p><p>The girl whipped the tears off her cheeks and looked at Julien with curiosity.</p><p>“What was so funny?” he asked, frowning.</p><p>“You vampires, thinking that people are afraid of you because you can bite,” she leaned forwards, her hand still resting on his knee, and her scent enveloped him. “Well, I can bite, too.”</p><p>Her voice dropped lower as she spoke, and Julien felt a rush of adrenaline running through his veins.</p><p>“See you around, big bad vampire,” the girl slipped off her seat and grabbed the book.</p><p>“Wait!” Julien jumped to his feet, trying not to lose her in the crowd. “You never said your name.”</p><p>She looked back at him, her lips curling into a grin: “I know.”</p><p>A group of drunk guys moved across the bar, creating a loud wall between them, and the vampire almost groaned: by the time they finally moved aside, the redhead was already gone. With a desperate moan, he collapsed back on the barstool and took a gulp of the drink before him. The strange excitement filled his body as he thought of the mysterious girl he just met.</p><p>“Hey,” he called for the barman.</p><p>“Yes?” an older man approached him, keeping a distance between himself and the vampire.</p><p>“Do you know her? The girl that left just now?”</p><p>The barman shook his head: “No, sir, this was the first time I saw her.”</p><p>Julien tapped his fingers against the edge of the glass and nodded. His phone buzzed in the back pocket of his black jeans, and he fished it out. The screen lit up with a message from the dating app, and he opened it hesitantly. There was one new text from his disastrous date, and he was ready to read that she never wanted to see him again – but instead, there was something entirely different.</p><p>There was a picture of her naked neck, with a short line. <em>Wanna take a bite?</em></p><p>He most certainly did not, but the photo background seemed strange, and the man typed a quick response.<em> Where are you?</em></p><p>A second later, his phone buzzed with a text again. <em>The back alley.</em></p><p>Something in his chest heaved with a bad presentiment as Julien threw money on the bar and walked towards the exit. Why such a sudden change of heart?</p><p>He surely didn’t plan to actually bite the girl, it was a mere joke, and now he regretted making it. His phone went life again.</p><p>
  <em>Are you close yet?</em>
</p><p><em>Almost there,</em> he typed back and pushed the phone back into his pocket. He got out of the crowded space and stepped onto the pavement, breathing in the fresh autumn air. The cobbled streets around were packed with pubs and a little restaurant, and some street musician was singing about his undying love for some girl at the end of the block.</p><p>Julien looked around and spotted the back alley of which his date probably spoke. He took a slow, cautious step, his senses heightened at the sudden bad feeling. The iron smell of blood hit him the moment he submerged into the darkness of the narrow street, surrounded by high walls on both sides.</p><p>The girl lay on her back, staring into the starry sky with her far-eyes. He dropped on his knees immediately, feeling for her pulse even though he already knew there wasn’t one. His hands touched something sticky and cold: her blood. Her neck was a bloody mess, ripped and torn with what seemed like… vampire fangs.</p><p>“No, no, no,” Julien grabbed the girl. “How could this happen?”</p><p>His heart filled with guilt: he invited her to the bar and left her there alone, and now she was dead.</p><p>Suddenly a bright light lit up the alley and someone screamed. Everything around him was drenched in blood, and so was his clothes. All he could see for a moment was the red color of blood and the lifeless blue eyes of the girl in his arms.</p><p>“Here!” a woman and a man approached him, followed by a group of people. “He killed her! Someone call the police, he killed that girl!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you like this story, leave kudos and comments, it means the world ♥️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Dye in Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He had about a second to figure out what to do. His mind went into paces as Julien threw a haunted look at the arriving crowd. If they call the police, they will bring the vampire unit, and it ends up with him getting drained for weeks… He shook his head and gulped the air, trying to catch the reminiscences of the other vampire’s scent but there weren’t any.</p><p>Someone has set him up, and Julien had to figure out who and why.</p><p>With a strong, forceful movement he pushed himself up and skipped off towards the opposite end of the alley, using his speed to escape the gathering crowd. He could hear the distant sirens and started moving faster, leaving the bar and the street far behind and heading towards the river. If the police bring the vampire unit, they’ll send someone for him, and he had to cover his tracks.</p><p>He finally reached the bridge above the river on the outskirts of the town and dived into the water, letting it wash off his scent and the scent of the girl’s blood off his body. Underwater, he took off his clothes and shoved it under one of the rocks. He only took his phone and wallet and swam up, listening carefully. It seemed like he was still alone, but he couldn’t risk and stay in the water any longer. He needed to destroy the phone and get back home as soon as possible.</p><p>In one swift movement, he reached the shore and pushed himself out of the water. As the vampire reached the road, he smashed the phone and looked under his feet, searching for something.</p><p>“Hello, there,” he picked the sim-card up and shoved it into the wallet.</p><p>He headed home, maneuvering through the trees, letting the race against the wind clear his head.</p><p>The whole story made no sense. He downloads an app and matches with a cute girl whose profile says she loved vampires. He talks to her for two days and enjoys her wit, so asks her out. And she acts all scared and weird, and nothing like on the app. Then, she disappears and messages him, and a minute later he finds her dead in the dark alley behind the bar.</p><p>When he finally got to his house, his head was heavy with all the possible scenarios. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that everything that just happened was some kind of horrible coincidence. But who would want to frame him up like that? Julien looked around the first floor as if expecting to see his house intruded but everything seemed fine. He crossed the large living room running his fingers over the leather of the armchair and stopped before the glass tray with crystal bottles with whiskey and scotch and poured some into a glass.</p><p>He had a lot to think about.</p><p>***</p><p>The morning found him wide awake, with a numberless glass of whiskey in his hand and an action plan on his mind.</p><p>First, he had to figure out how much the police knew about the accident by then. Second, he had to find someone who might know anything about those few minutes his date spent at the bar alone while he was grafting the redhead. And third, he had to find a way to do all of that without attracting attention to himself.</p><p>Julien put the glass on the glass top of the coffee table and got up, stretching out. A blanket he wrapped around himself slipped off his shoulder revealing his chiseled body. How long has it been since he last walked under the sun?</p><p>The vampire frowned at himself: under the sunlight, his powers didn’t work, he was just as useless as the mortals. Theoretically, he couldn’t die but everything else, including aging and getting stabbed, wasn’t entirely off the table – and he hated it. That’s why, like most of his kind, he preferred spending his days in the cool darkness of his house, shielded with thick curtains that wouldn’t let in a single ray of sun.</p><p>
  <em>Speaking of other vampires…</em>
</p><p>Julien tapped his fingers on one of the bookshelves and followed to his bedroom to get ready for the long day. Before going back to that infernal place, he had to speak with someone who he’d rather never even harked back to.</p><p>He stared at his reflection for a long moment before finally pulling on jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt he had no idea he had in his possession. If he meets another vampire he won’t be able to hide who he was but with the mortals, that ridiculous outfit should’ve been enough to blend them into the crowd.</p><p>He went outside and looked around, enjoying the silence only interrupted by the rustle of the leaves, still mostly green, and the screams of birds. He lived in the close vicinity to the town, his house lost in the tall century-old trees cover with moss. He walked down the driveway and climbed into his car. Without his powers, he always felt as if he lost a part of himself, and he hated that feeling.</p><p>Driving the car, he was trying to figure out how to start the conversation. What do you even tell someone who you haven’t spoken to in almost thirty years?</p><p>Julien shook his head and sped up the car. The less he overthought it, the better. He needed help, and they were once friends… brothers.</p><p>Finally, he reached one of the buildings in the city center and parked the car across the street. The sun hid behind the cloud, and it somehow became slightly easier to breathe. The vampire crossed the street and pushed the glass door open. He moved past the security post and pressed the elevator button.</p><p>This was the tallest building in the town, thirteen floors, and he pressed the top button hesitantly.</p><p>It was too late to turn back, and Julien spread his shoulders and cocked his head, trying to emanate confidence instead of reluctance and uncertainty. The moment the elevator doors opened, Julien felt his presence, and a second later he saw him.</p><p>He stepped out of the cabin and looked straight into the other vampire’s eyes.</p><p>“William,” he greeted the blond man.</p><p>“Julien,” the other man spat his name as if it was poison. “To what do I own such displeasure?”</p><p>William crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his counterpart, as everyone used to call them back in the days, they were inseparable as if attached at the hip. They were always the opposite of one another, two sides of one coin, always together, like brothers… that’s what they were until something pulled them infinity apart.</p><p>“I need your help,” Julien said openly. “Someone’s trying to set me up.”</p><p>The blond man’s face slightly twitched but he recomposed himself almost immediately. “And how’s that any of my concern?”</p><p>William leaned his shoulder against the wall, staring at the dark-haired man blankly. With a deep sigh, Julien took a step closer to him and continued quietly.</p><p>“Look, I know I fucked up. I know you hate me. And I will be forever sorry for what I’ve done. But you’re the only one I can turn to.”</p><p>Something in the other man’s eyes changed, a flicker of pain ran through them, changing the warm amber into dark chocolate. Slowly, William nodded and motioned Julien to follow him. They went through what seemed like a regular office, only all windows were made of glass that wouldn’t allow the streams of sunlight to enter the room, dissolving them into tiny little specks.</p><p>When they finally reached William’s office, he closed the door behind them and pointed towards the chair.</p><p>“What do you mean ‘someone’s trying to set you up’? What happened?”</p><p>Julien told the other vampire about the events of a previous night, only omitting the encounter with the redhead girl, for the reasons he couldn’t explain to himself. When he finished the story, his once friend flopped into the chair behind the desk ungratefully and looked at Julien.</p><p>“What were you even doing on that app?”</p><p>The dark-haired man shrugged thanking his inability to blush: “got bored.”</p><p>“I’m gonna need your password,” William opened his computer. “I’ll try to find out more about the girl… It was on the news but briefly, they never mentioned it was a vampire.”</p><p>“Why would they hide that?” Julien frowned.</p><p>“That, we’ll have to figure out, too.”</p><p>Julien snapped his eyes at the blond. “We? You’re going to help me?”</p><p>William didn’t answer, instead, he pressed a button on the phone sitting on the desk.</p><p>“Lara, come in, please.”</p><p>A moment later, a petite brown-haired vampire slid into the room, her heels clicking on the marble floor.</p><p>“Yes, William?”</p><p>“Call Stefan, ask him to come here immediately. And find out who’s investigating the last night’s murder.”</p><p>The woman nodded, no questions asked and left the room. William leaned back in his chair and gave Julien a studying look. For a second, it seemed that he was going to ask something, but he changed his mind,</p><p>“You should stay away from that place, you understand that, right?”</p><p>Julien knew his ex-friend was right, but he couldn’t shake the memory of the redhead stranger out of his mind. Something inside of him just needed to know who she was, and that bar was the only place to start searching for her, even the barman claimed he hadn’t seen her before that infelicitous evening. He just had to know who she was.</p><p>Pushing his thoughts aside, he nodded.</p><p>“Good. I suggest you get back home now, and I will pay you a visit later when I have some more information on hand… And Julien?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“You are sure that you haven’t pissed someone off recently and it’s not just a revenge?”</p><p>He nodded again.</p><p>“I barely speak to anyone these days.”</p><p>He decided not to elaborate that ‘days’ meant years and decades.</p><p>“Alright then. Go home, and I’ll see you tonight.”</p><p>Julien left the office and got into his car. He turned the engine on and glided into the traffic with a heavy feeling on his heart. It might’ve been a horrible mistake and he was going to regret it, but he needed to find that mysterious stranger, no matter what.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Red Hearts Club.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After his conversation with William, Julien drove through the half-empty streets barely looking at the road, too consumed with his thoughts. He didn’t expect the other vampire to actually agree to help him, not after what he’d done to him.</p><p>He shook his head, and a strand of dark hair fell across the man’s face. He had no time to reminisce on the past, not until he figures out what the hell was going on. He might’ve been out of the loop the last couple of decades, but he remembered the saying: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck – probably, someone’s setting him up.</p><p>Finally, Julien pulled over a block away from the bar and turned the engine off, throwing a glance in the rearview mirror. In the daylight, all his supernatural instincts didn’t work, he could rely only on logic and common sense, deprived of everything else. He climbed out of the car and walked slowly towards the bar, his hands shoved deep into the front pockets of his jeans, his sweatshirt blending him nicely into the lackluster crowd.</p><p>As he got closer to the bar, the vampire slowed down, even more, looking around to make sure no one was watching him. Frowning at his own helplessness, Julien crossed the street and pushed the bar door open. The space was now almost empty, except for two men at the corner table, no one wished to spend the early afternoon at the establishment.</p><p>He walked towards the bar counter where a man in his late forties was wiping the glasses melancholically. It wasn’t the same man as last night, and the vampire slouched his shoulder forward to create an image of a regular customer. </p><p>“Whiskey,” Julien ordered and added after a short consideration. “Double.”</p><p>Nonchalantly, the bartender grabbed one of the glassed and filled it with the golden-hued liquid that Julie threw back in one large gulp and asked to repeat. He swirled the glass in his log fingers before catching the other man’s eyes, hoping that the bright sunlight and a horrible outfit will do the trick and turn him into an ordinary day-drinking loser.</p><p>He emptied the glass again and made a sad face.</p><p>“I’m looking for a girl,” he added some tragedy into his voice. “I met her last night and can’t stop thinking about her.”</p><p>To his surprise, he didn’t lie: the mysterious stranger had been on his mind since the moment she left the bar, just not for romantic reasons.</p><p>“Is that so,” the barman responded with no interest in his voice.</p><p>“Yes,” Julien nodded enthusiastically. “Red hair, bright green eyes, a body to kill for… tattoos of snakes on her arms… Have you seen her here?”</p><p>“Nay,” the barman grabbed a lemon and started cutting it, chewing on a slice.</p><p>Losing the little hope that he still held, Julien slid off the barstool to leave, when the other man looked up at him again: “But I know who you’re talking about.”</p><p>“What?” the vampire’s eyes widened. “You know her?”</p><p>He leaned over the counter, looking in the other man's eyes with an unfeigned plea. He had to know who that girl was, at this point, she was his only alibi, in case he ever needed one – she was with him when his date disappeared, and only she could prove his innocence as she was the one who saw him leaving that silly girl alone at the table, very much alive.</p><p>“I don’t <em>know</em> her,” the barman shrugged and poured himself some whiskey. “But I’ve seen her around, she’s one of Andrew’s girls.</p><p>Julien’s mood suddenly hit a new low: that Andrew guy held an exotic dance club not too far from there where vampires can meet people who were willing to let them feed off them, and usually, those ‘girls’ were addicts to vampire’s venom.</p><p>“Are you certain?”</p><p>The man just nodded, and Julien finally left the bar, thinking over the information he just learned. Now, her reaction – or the lack of it – made sense. If she was working for Andrew, she was much accustomed to being around the vampires, especially, if she was one of the feeders. Julien tried to remember if he saw any scars or bite marks on her skin but couldn’t remember for sure.</p><p>Looking around, he sneaked into the alleyway behind the bar, drawn to the place of yesterday’s crime.</p><p><em>You’re not a freaking criminal</em>, the vampire reminded himself irritably as the stupid saying popped up in his head. He moved along the stone-made wall, trying to picture how the poor girl must’ve been dragged into that alley. Maybe she was waiting for her cab and she heard something and went to check what was going on? Or someone called for her, and she followed… or someone just compelled her to follow, or even used brutal force.</p><p>He tried to notice any traces of the presence of another vampire, but there was nothing left now, not after the rain washed away all the scents and even the half-washed bloody spot smelled more of asphalt than of the actual blood.</p><p>Julien groaned internally: he was just wasting his time there.</p><p>The police cleared the place of any evidence that might’ve been there, and even if they missed something, without his supernatural senses he wouldn’t be able to find it unless he got lucky. And Julien was never the lucky one. The vampire looked around the last time, now trying to follow his own path, but to no avail. It was a dead-end, and he had to admit it. This little trip was completely useless – almost.</p><p>At least, now he had an idea of where to search for the mysterious redhead.</p><p><em>She works for Andrew,</em> Julien reminded himself with an expression of aversion that twisted his beautiful features. <em>She can’t be any good if she’s anything like her boss.</em></p><p>He frowned at his own thoughts: what was his business if she was good or bad? He only needed her to prove his alibi, it wasn’t like he actually… liked her? The vampire huffed under his breath leaving the back alley through the opposite street.</p><p>He might’ve found her interesting last night, but now it didn’t matter… did it?</p><p>Julien brushed the hair out of his face, unsure what to do next. William told him to stay low and wait until the other vampire gathers some information - and walking into a vampire’s lair wasn’t exactly staying low. But it seemed like the only way to find out more about the redhead, so he didn’t have much of a choice.</p><p>The vampire sighed as the decision was made and headed towards the old city where Andrew’s club took almost half of the narrow street: the three-story high tasteless building that looked like an ugly baby of a Gothic castle and a Persian palace.</p><p>He avoided that place for years and now, as he stood in front of the club, Julien remembered all the reasons why he never wanted to cross its threshold ever again. He shut his eyes close for a moment, the memories from decades ago flashing before his eyelids, bringing him back to the times when he and William were still inseparable, two sides of the same coin, closer than brothers.</p><p>Those years were the best in his life – and yet, he preferred to never think of them because of the way it all ended, the way <em>he</em> ended everything.  </p><p>A soft chuckle from behind Julien’s back made him snap his eyes open, almost stumbling as he turned around, cursing his own carelessness. Now, in the bright daylight, he was almost just as vulnerable as any mortal, and standing in the middle of the street and staring into space wasn’t the best tactic to stay safe and sound.</p><p>A pair of large emerald-green eyes stared at him with undisguised mockery.</p><p>“So, you’re stalking me now, Mister Vampire?” she wondered with a raise of her eyebrows, and her lips curled slightly upwards with a sneer. “Should I start calling for help yet?”</p><p>Julien barely held back a growl, now her bravery didn’t seem so charming anymore. He let his eyes study her for a moment and had to admit that under the stray rays of sunlight, in her simple black pants and a white sweater she looked just as stunning as in a flippant dress that she wore last night at the bar.</p><p>He swallowed back a snarky response and ran his fingers through his long dark strands of hair.</p><p>“I need to talk to you about something that happened last night.”</p><p>“You mean the murder,” she said nonchalantly, not a single muscle in her face twitched. “I’ve heard they’re looking for a vampire who strangely reminds of you.”</p><p>It took all of his self-control to not show the hurricane of emotions that ran through his body at this matter-of-fact statement. Instead, Julien just nodded. “That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”</p><p>The girl’s phone beeped loudly in the quietness of the empty street, and she rolled her eyes as she read the message.</p><p>“Let’s go, then. We can talk while I’m getting ready.”</p><p>Unceremoniously, she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the back entrance of Pandemonium, and Julien winced yet again at the pretentious name Andrew gave to his shitty club.</p><p>“Wait,” he stopped the girl in her tracks, and she raised an eyebrow expectantly. “Are you going to tell me your name at last?”</p><p>She squinted, as if considering his words, and finally nodded.</p><p>“Just the way you like your drinks,” she chuckled. “Scarlett.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Red Velvet.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julien hesitantly followed Scarlett inside the building, his mind filling with the pictures of old memories involuntarily. They walked down the long, barely lit corridor, and the vampire had to fight back the urge to just close his eyes and watch the movie of the past days, the days filled with twisted pleasures, pain, and so much blood he could bathe in it.</p><p>He had to shake himself, casting away importunate thoughts that were swirling in his head, and focused on Scarlett’s back as the girl lead him through the back corridors until they finally reached her green room.</p><p>“Make yourself comfortable,” she chuckled, pointing towards the red velvet couch. “Drinks in the fridge.”</p><p>“Drinks?” his heart jumped to his throat.</p><p>She only raised an eyebrow a little before lowering herself onto a chair before the vanity and stared at her reflection thoughtfully.</p><p>Julien crossed the room and opened the chrome door of a small drink cabinet, his eyes falling immediately onto blood bags. He slammed the door shut and stared at the girl in a silent question. Scarlett laughed softly and shook her head.</p><p>“Don’t worry, vampire, it’s not mine,” her emerald-green eyes sparkled mysteriously. “I have hemophilia. A bite too many – and I’m done for.”</p><p>She said it simply, no fear, no emotions at all, she was only stating a fact.</p><p>“And you decided to work at a place like this?” Julien’s eyebrows shot up. “Not the smartest choice, sweetheart.”</p><p>She gave him a smirk. “Reasons…”</p><p>The girl grabbed one of the brushes and started putting her makeup on, her gaze seemingly focused on her reflection in the mirror but never failing to note any changes in the vampire’s face, following his movements vigilantly.</p><p>Julien finally nestled on the couch and stretched his legs, resting his feet on the coffee table, his body seemingly relaxed but his senses tense. He watched her for a few moments before Scarlett caught his gaze.</p><p>“Not that I’m not enjoying your company, but I remember you wanted a conversation.”</p><p>The vampire glanced towards the closed door and returned his gaze to the woman.</p><p>“How do you know about the murder?” he asked casually, trying to use whatever bits of supernatural intuition he could gather now, that the day finally started turning into evening.</p><p>“Everyone knows,” she shrugged. “It’s a small town.”</p><p>“And you know that they saw a vampire leaving the crime scene?” Julien continued, his face straight as ever.</p><p>“Meaning you?” Scarlett chuckled. “Yes, a friend of mine mentioned that. How’d you end up in that alley?”</p><p>Could he trust her? Julien barely knew this redhead human who wasn’t afraid of vampires and had a rare blood decease that should’ve been her greatest worrying against having any business with them – and yet, there she was. A dancer at the club where vampires came to drink the blood of their willing – and oftentimes, not – victims. There she was, behind the closed door with him.</p><p>Did she trust him or was she just reckless?</p><p>Brushing the strands of dark hair out of his face, Julien frowned, still unsure what to think of the girl before him.</p><p>“I got a message from her, telling to come and find her,” he almost cringed at his own words.</p><p>Scarlett chuckled softly.</p><p>“Gullible vampire,” her voice dropped a little lower as her eyes shone at him in the reflection.</p><p>Julien snorted in displeasure, ignoring a tiny pang in the pit of his stomach when their gazes met.</p><p>“I came outside and went into the alley, it smelled of blood and I rushed to check on the girl. She was already dead for a few minutes, whoever sent that message, wasn’t her.”</p><p>“Are you saying, someone <em>purposely </em>framed you?” for the first time since the conversation began, the girl seemed somewhat interested. “Who would want to do that?”</p><p>The vampire huffed. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you.”</p><p>She laughed and pulled a mascara from under the pile of other makeup.</p><p>“Oh yes, I forgot. You vampires are always so quick to use force. Ripping heads off left and right…”</p><p>His body shuddered at the girl’s words, and Julien lowered his eyes not to meet her stare. Her words went through his heart with a sharp knife, reminding him of the times he wished he was able to forget.</p><p>Shaking his hair to get rid of the bright images flooding his mind, the vampire pressed his long fingers to his temples, feeling the energy drain out of his body.</p><p>“So,” she seemed to catch on his reaction. “What do you <em>need</em> from me?”</p><p>When he came searching for her earlier, he only wanted to make sure she would be willing to confirm his alibi if needed, but now, he was convinced she was able to do more than just that, it was only a matter of his convincingness to talk her into helping him.</p><p>“You seem to know a lot of what’s going on around here,” Julien finally looked up.</p><p>She chuckled darkly.</p><p>“People seem to be willing to talk when I’m around.”</p><p>“Well, <em>people</em> seem to be not so keen to talk to a vampire, especially, one on one,” Julien noted, a thought forming in his mind. “And with all your<em> friends</em>, it would’ve been easier to find out who’s behind this.”</p><p>Scarlett gave him a long, predatory look.</p><p>“And what’s in it for me, vampire?”</p><p>“What do you want?”</p><p>She shook her hair, and the fire-red curls cascaded down her back as the girl got up from the chair and moved to the other side of the room, where a clothing rack and a dressing screen stood. She grabbed one of the garments and stooped behind the screen, the silence now so tense one could slice it with a knife.</p><p>Julien could only see the blurred contours of her body as she gently pulled her sweater off and threw it on top of the screen. He could make out her narrow waist and full hips as she slowly bent over to pull her pants down, freeing one leg after another out of the tight grip of fabric. He averted his gaze, frowning at his reaction.</p><p>He remembered last night when he saw her in that mini sequined dress, her plump lips glossy and eyes sparkling. He waited until she changed and stepped from behind the screen, and it took a lot of self-restraint not to let his eyes roam her body.</p><p>Her heavily bejeweled corset made her already narrow waist even smaller, her breasts full and round, rising and falling as she breathed. Smirking, she took a step closer, not fooled by the indifferent mask on the vampire’s face. Scarlett walked over the table and stopped before Julien, now towering above him, and the scent of her perfume hit him harder than a sledgehammer.</p><p>She smelled of black licorice and exotic flowers mixed with sweet, creamy vanilla that seemed too innocent for the way she looked at that moment. Her arms were covered with black lace fingerless gloves up to her elbows, and the jewels of her outfit sparkled and clinked as she bent over, pressing her hands into Julien’s knees.</p><p>He swallowed hard through the sudden lump in his throat when their eyes met, and a hot wave ran through the vampire’s body against his will.</p><p>Scarlett slowly licked her lips, her emerald-green eyes now the color of pine forest, and leaned closer to whisper into the man’s ear, her voice sweet and viscous like melted caramel.</p><p>“I’ll help you,” her lips brushed Julien’s ear, and a sharp breath escaped his mouth. “But you’ll owe me a favor.”</p><p>“What kind of favor?” he managed to keep his voice casual even though her closeness made the hair on his arms stand on end.</p><p>Her hot breath burned on his skin when she moved even closer, moving one hand from his leg to run her forefinger up Julien’s neck before she took hold of his chin. “You’ll know when it’s time to pay your debt, vampire.”</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Red on My Mind.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Dance: All on my mind - Anderson East</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julien sat at the table aside from the stage, his eyes sliding lazily over the slowly gathering public. Mostly vampires, a few witches, a werewolf that immediately got into a fight with two vampires at the bar – the crowd has changed since Julien’s last time at Pandemonium, and he couldn’t decide how he felt about it.</p><p>“Hey, handsome,” a petite blonde girl bent over his table. “Want a private dance?”</p><p>His eyes narrowed at the dancer, and he growled lowly. “No.”</p><p>She shrugged, barely impressed, and stepped away, almost immediately ending up in the huge arms of another vampire. Julien grabbed his glass and took a large gulp of whiskey, rolling it on his tongue before he swallowed burning liquid down. The sun has finally rolled behind the horizon, and he felt his powers return, filling his body with the familiar strength.</p><p>He waved at one of the waitresses to repeat his drink and threw a glance at his watch: almost seven. A deep furrow creased Julien’s brow as he mentally replayed the conversation he just had with the redhead dancer.  She promised her help and asked for a favor in return, which wouldn’t be an issue if it was anyone else but her. Somehow, next to that girl, Julien felt like prey, and he hadn’t felt that way for centuries now.</p><p>Something about the girl felt unsettling, something about her careless, almost reckless attitude just seemed odd, given he could snap her neck in two with a gentle movement of his fingers. And in his long life Julien got used not to trust any oddities.</p><p>The vampire shook his head irritably, and a few dark strands fell onto his face. William promised his help, but it’s been eight hours, and he still hadn’t called. There was nothing indicating that the other vampire succeeded in his little investigation, and Julien wasn’t willing to just sit around and wait until something else happens.</p><p>The lights in the hall went out almost completely as the spotlights lit up the stage. Julien’s pulse picked up involuntarily. His stupid dead heart suddenly remembering how to hammer with a mix of excitement and nervousness as the first heavy drum and solo guitar accords pierced through the air that was crackling with exhilaration. The vampire stared at the stage, his nose capable to recognize the familiar scent of black licorice and wildflowers.</p><p>Scarlett stepped onto the stage, her heavy bejeweled corset and barely existing shorts sparkling in the colorful lights that illuminated the space around her.</p><p><em>“</em> <em>She can wear a nightgown to a wedding</em> <em><br/>
A t-shirt to bed<br/>
A short skirt in the olden times…”</em></p><p>Her legs seemed mile long as she walked slowly towards the pole, her hips caught in the beat, her plump lips glimmer wetly in the shimmering light. Her hand grabbed the pole firmly, and he could see the muscles in her arm become prominent when she forced herself up, her legs wrapping effortlessly around the metal as she spun herself around it.</p><p>He’s seen dozens of Andrew’s girls dance but never before he’s seen a performance that captivated the entire audience. From his spot, he could see other patrons stare intently at the girl hanging under the ceiling, her body floating in the air, supported only with her arms as she moved her legs as if walking on air.</p><p>The redhead looked at him, and a small smile curled her lips upwards. One of her legs wrapped around the pole, the other and both arms straightened as if she was flying, her eyes closed. She brought her hand to run her fingertips over her long, graceful neck, and Julien could see the way her fingers trembled with tension.</p><p>Her eyes snapped open the same second she relaxed the muscles of her leg, letting her body slide down the pole. It happed so fast, in a span of a moment, Julien barely managed to realize what happened when her body froze just inches away from the hardwood floor, and the club erupted in whistles and approving yelps.</p><p>She unwrapped herself from the pole gracefully, tossed the curls of her fire-red hair behind her back, and walked slowly towards the edge where two men took her hands, lowering her off the stage as her eyes were burned into Julien’s.</p><p><em>“</em> <em>Come on now lover, won't you follow my lead</em> <em><br/>
And we'll move on into the night…”</em></p><p>She moved towards his table, stopping to slid on somebody’s lap and then push them away, leaving a trail of the hot, sweet scent of her skin lingering on each vampire she touched, until she stopped just a step from where Julien sat. Her eyes sparkled like emeralds when she closed the space between them and ran her fingers up his throat, making him swallow hard at the overwhelming sensation of her body heat, and her scent, and the blood pumping through her veins.</p><p>She turned her back to him, her hands pressed in his thighs, and moved slowly down until she was between his knees. In a flash, she turned around to face him and leaned forward in a movement of an attacking snake, and he almost stumbled backwards at the way her face changed for a second that their gazes locked.</p><p>“Meet me outside,” she whispered before sauntering towards someone else.</p><p>Julien threw money on the table and followed her advice on the word. Only when he got outside, the vampire realized how tensed his entire body was. He looked around spotting an overnight store and went inside, hoping that his ridiculous outfit will do the trick again. He bought a pack of cigarettes and took a long draw the moment he left the store and its nervous owner who’s been constantly throwing glances at Julien.</p><p>Fighting back a childish urge to bare his fangs, the vampire left the guy and sat on the curb, breathing in the smoke of cigarettes and reminiscing of those golden times when people smoked opium and were actually afraid of the supernatural.</p><p>“Mind if I join?” Scarlett’s slightly teasing voice brought Julien back into the moment, and he just shrugged.</p><p>“Why so serious?” the girl flopped next to him ungracefully, and it was somehow so much out of character that the vampire stared back at her in surprise. “What?”</p><p>Julien narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to his side as he let his heightened senses pick up on the scent of tiresome that spread through her body along with the dying out adrenaline rush and arousal that he felt back inside the club.</p><p>“Why are you doing this?” his question came out as a surprise for Julien himself.</p><p>“It’s all I’m well at,” she shrugged. “That and sex, but I’m too lazy to fuck some old pricks for money. “</p><p>Julien choked on the cigarette smoke, and the redhead laughed, her voice vibrating in the back of her throat.</p><p>“Plus, no one pays better than vampires,” she continued. “I can save enough to never work again once I hit thirty and am old and saggy.”</p><p>“Well, that’s a lovely compliment,” Julien chuckled and bounced up to his feet, outstretching his arm.</p><p>“Oh, please,” Scarlett rolled her eyes and took his hand. “You will forever look like this, you’ve no idea what it feels like to wake up every morning and notice something that wasn’t there before.”</p><p>She huffed under her breath as if irritated with herself and cocked her head, regaining her previous unfazed posture. “So, where are we heading first?”</p><p>“The girl’s parents,” Julien frowned. “You look like you could be her roommate in college or…”</p><p>“That, given she went to college,” the redhead interrupted. “What do you know about her.”</p><p>“She never spoke about her past,” he said as they moved down the street walking back to where he parked his car. “Only that she lived alone and didn’t have siblings.”</p><p>“Yeah, that won’t help,” Scarlett agreed, pulling out her phone. “I know someone who can find out her parents’ address, but you’ll owe me so big.”</p><p>She typed something on her phone, and the vampire fought back an urge to look over her shoulder. They kept walking in silence for a few more moments before they heard the approaching sirens. Julien’s entire body went tensed as two police cars appeared from behind the corner, one of them with the vampire unit emblem.</p><p>“No,” Scarlett grabbed his hand a split of a second before he grabbed her waist preparing to flee both of them from there. “It’s too late.”</p><p>Four officers left the cars and started looking around, one of them heading their way.</p><p>“Fuck,” the girl’s heart jumped into her throat as a rush of adrenaline went through her.</p><p>Julien could feel a tangled mix of emotions inside the girl but had no time to untangle it and read them, everything was happening as in a hectic, feverish dream. She dropped her bag onto the pavement and pushed the man against a brick wall of one of the buildings, her arms wrapping around his neck and her long hair creating a wall between him and the world.</p><p>His lips parted, but she never let him speak, pressing her mouth against his. He could hear the approaching footsteps stop, then a small chuckle and the footsteps move farther away from them. They were alone again, but neither of them stopped the kiss. His hands pressed harder into the girl’s sides while her fingers snaked into the vampire’s hair, tugging gently as she kissed him deeper, the warmth of her body cradling both of them.</p><p>A honk of a passing car and a loud whistle made them pull apart, and Scarlett stepped back cocking her head to get a better look at the man.</p><p>Her lips curled into a smirk, and she brushed her finger over his lips to wipe off her lip gloss.</p><p>“Not too bad for a nasty old man.”</p><p>“Not too bad for someone who’s doomed to become <em>saggy,</em>” he grinned back and bent over to grab the girl’s bag from the cobbled ground.</p><p>She nudged him on a shoulder and rolled her eyes.</p><p>“My friend just texted me back. We’ve got the address.”</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Walls Colored Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julien’s car came to a stop across the street from a small one-story house with a small deck illuminated with a moth light. The vampire turned the engine off, looking at the row of similar red-stoned houses, and his throat clenched unpleasantly at the sad sight.</p><p>“Well, this is depressive,” Scarlett commented, wrinkling her nose. “No wonder girl wanted to meet an old wealthy vampire and run away from this.”</p><p>The man looked at his companion, frowning. “She’s dead now, you know.”</p><p>“And because of that, it’s suddenly inappropriate to be direct?” the redhead shrugged. “Would never pin you as a little snowflake.”</p><p>Julien huffed irritably and pushed the car door open to climb outside. Chill, foggy air crawled under his clothes, turning his sweatshirt into a damp, disgusting piece of fabric that now made his own face twitch in disgust as he opened the door for Scarlett. She glanced at him with a raised eyebrow but said nothing, huddling herself up under the gust of cold wind.</p><p>“Hold on,” the vampire reached to the backseat to grab a leather jacket that he once left there.</p><p>He covered her with his jacket, and the girl looked up at him in surprise, her eyebrows arching as she studied his face for a moment too long before finally shook her head.</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>Julien just pointed towards the house. The lights inside were turned off, only in one window, they could see a diffused light of what seemed to be a floor lamp. They looked at each other, and the girl nodded confidently.</p><p>“Let’s do it.”</p><p>They crossed the street and walked down the driveway, their minds busy with thoughts. Julien glanced at Scarlett whose hands were holding the folds of his jacket to keep it wrapped around her, and strangely, the picture seemed weirdly… <em>cozy?  </em>He almost choked on the word that came to his mind and rushed to brush the ridiculous thought off.</p><p>The redhead knocked on the thin wooden door, and they both froze, waiting. Julien heard the footsteps first, they were coming from the farthest part of the house, slow and shambling, as if just such a simple movement was unbearably hard for the person.</p><p>When the door finally opened, they both saw a man in his late forties, average height and build, now he looked sunken as if all of his energy was just sucked out of his body. He looked at the couple indifferently for so long, it became uncomfortable. Julien tried to read him, but there was nothing but pain in the man, and it made the vampire’s senses crawl away from it, away from the dark, bitter scent of misery coming from the human before him.</p><p>“Mister LaRue?” Scarlett broke the silence finally, realizing that neither of the men was going to. “My name is… Ruby, I knew your daughter. Can we… come in and talk, please? She told me so much about you.”</p><p>The man before them snapped out of his trance at the mention of his daughter and nodded weakly, opening the door wider so they could come in. He walked them towards the kitchen and collapsed on the chair where he was seated before and pointed toward the kettle sitting on the stove.</p><p>“Tea?”</p><p>“I’ll make it,” Julien glanced at the girl, and she nodded, taking the chair next to their host.</p><p>She placed her hand onto the man’s, but he barely noticed it, staring at the opened photo album lying on the table before him. Scarlett bent down a little to look at the pictures and pointed towards one of them.</p><p>“She was very beautiful.”</p><p>“She was,” the man agreed quietly. “And smart, teachers always were happy with her achievements.”</p><p>“Yes, I remember,” the girl lied effortlessly. “They chose her to do the graduation speech.”</p><p>Julien’s eyes widened when the man nodded faster, happy to have someone to talk about his daughter. The vampire put three steaming mugs on the table and took a seat next to Scarlett, who was gently bringing the man to speak about what happened. Her voice has changed, any past sarcasm was gone, her entire body radiated sympathy.</p><p>“She’s been acting strangely for a few days,” he remembered, looking into the distance. “Very nervous, even though, usually she is very calm… was calm.”</p><p>The man swallowed hard, and Scarlett moved her hand to squeeze his shoulder comfortably.</p><p>“Nervous how Mr. LaRue?”</p><p>“She started using this new app on her phone… wanted to meet somebody. I kept telling her that she should go out more, but she was such a homebody, it wasn’t easy for her to meet new people. She got excited when she met that guy on the app, but it changed so fast. She never told me what was wrong, but she became nervous, any noise could scare her. I tried asking what was wrong, but she only said that she was tired.”</p><p>The man went quiet, drowning in his memories, and Scarlett silently nodded at Julien: they weren’t going to learn anything else. She leaned into the man and whispered something when the vampire pushed the chair to get up and it squeaked against the floor, drowning out her quiet voice. She followed Julien outside, and took a deep breath of damp, frosty air, letting it fill up her lungs.</p><p>Unhurriedly, they walked back to his car and stopped next to it, leaning their back against the hood. The vampire glanced at his companion, a little frown between his brows.</p><p>“What?” she caught his gaze, her face changing from calm and empathetic to annoyed in a split of a second.</p><p>“How did you know about the graduation speech?”</p><p>“Because God gave me eyes, and I know how to use them,” she huffed. “When we walked through the living room, there was a whole lot of framed photographs, one of them of your disastrous rendezvous standing on a platform in her graduation cap and gown.”</p><p>She turned to look straight at the man, a mockery in her eyes. “For a vampire, you’re very inattentive.”</p><p>Julien’s lips thinned in annoyance.</p><p>“For a human, whose neck can be snapped in half of a second, you’re very cocky.”</p><p>The girl stared at him for a moment and then did what he couldn’t expect: she laughed. Not chuckled and rolled her eyes, she laughed, sincerely, grabbing onto his forearm as she bent over in a fit of the most melodic laughter he’s ever heard. Still giggling, Scarlett looked up at the man, her eyes sparkling in the streetlights with emotion that Julien was unable to identify.</p><p>She studied his face for a long moment before smiling. “Come on, big scary vampire. You’re driving me home and, on the way, we can discuss all the neck-snapping techniques you know.”</p><p>She bounced off, and it took Julien a moment to shake himself into action, too. He climbed onto the driver’s seat and started the engine, sending short glances towards the redhead who threw off her shoes and rested her feet on the dashboard, relaxing against the back of her seat.</p><p>They spent the first five minutes in silence only disturbed by the soft music coming from the car radio and the sounds of the grit whispering under the wheels before Scarlett finally spoke, her eyes still glued to the road before them.</p><p>“Seems like she never told him about you,” she said quietly. “For how long the two of you have been speaking?”</p><p>“A few days? Two or three?”</p><p>“You don’t remember?” she finally turned her head to face him.</p><p>“A few days is hard to remember when you’ve lived for centuries.”</p><p>They both went silent for a moment before Julien took another turn towards the girl’s home, and she continued, her voice unsure. “There might’ve been someone else on the app, someone who’s made her <em>nervous</em>.”</p><p>He stopped the car before one of the few high-rise buildings in the town center and looked at the girl who didn’t rush to leave. She studied his face and sighed as if making a decision.</p><p>“I’ll speak to a few people tomorrow,” she said finally. “Will try to find out if any of them knew her – or someone, who might’ve known her. Give me until the evening and bring dinner with you. And a poor unexpected passerby is not considered dinner at my place, so bring pizza.”</p><p>Julien chuckled, rolling his eyes, but went serious a moment later. He didn’t expect her to offer help but nodded in appreciation: even though his disastrous date’s father was hardly of help, Julien couldn’t deny that Scarlett did more than he could ever expect from her.</p><p>Scarlett opened the glove compartment and found a pen and piece of paper and scribbled her phone number on it. “Just in case.”</p><p>“Thank you,” he said seriously. “Really.”</p><p>The girl only shrugged and reached to the backseat and grabbed her bag, turning to Julien with a half-smirk playing on her lips.</p><p>“Good night, vampire.”</p><p>He watched her disappear inside of the building, and something inside of him liked the fact she was still wearing his jacket too much. He shrugged it off and started the car, hoping to get back home before William arrives. He hadn’t heard from the other vampire since the morning, but if he said he’ll visit him, Julien knew he will keep his promise. Unlike him, William could be trusted.</p><p>He frowned, chasing away the ghosts of his past, and stepped on the gas, driving the car almost instinctively, his thoughts filled with the memories of the day, memories that had too much of fire-red hair and sarcastic grin…</p><p>Julien drove up the driveway and slammed the car door shut, trying to get rid of his thoughts about Scarlett so hard, he never noticed the presence of somebody else. Only when he stepped inside, he realized he wasn’t alone.</p><p>William stood in the center of the living room, his arms folded and eyes full of anger.</p><p>“What exactly in the sentence ‘<em>go home and stay out of it’ </em>you didn’t understand?”</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Red Poison.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>William’s face creased in a deep frown as he watched the other vampire making his way towards the glass tray to pour drinks to both of them, and Julien could feel his burning gaze making holes in his back.</p><p>“Well?” the blond vampire pressed, perching himself against the armrest of one of the heavy leather chairs.</p><p>“I know what you said,” Julien stretched his hand offering him a drink. “But what was I supposed to do? Just sit and wait?”</p><p>“Precisely,” William’s face twitched with distaste as he sniffed on the drink and put the glass down onto the coffee table. “You asked for my help, I’m expecting you not to mingle while I’m doing so.”</p><p>“Mingle?”</p><p>“Someone saw you and your little mortal heading to the victim’s father.”</p><p>Julien’s’ breathing hitched uncontrollably as if his body just forgot that it was long-time dead. He thought he did a good job of covering his identity, but Scarlett was too noticeable, she drew attention just by walking down the street. He sighed in frustration and rubbed his temples, staring at his once friend.</p><p>“Are you only here to school me or you’ve got actual news?”</p><p>William scoffed at him.</p><p>“One would expect more respect from someone who came to him for help. Especially, after…”</p><p>His voice dropped to a dangerous half-whisper, and Julien felt little creeps running down his spine. William was dangerous. Behind his polished exterior and long, blond hair, there was a cold-blooded vampire that was older and stronger than him, and who was very, very angry at him. He repressed the desire to keep pushing the other man’s buttons and took a large slug of his drink.  </p><p>He moved to sit in the chair across the low table from William and put his glass down, throwing his hand up. “Sorry, alright? I know it was stupid.”</p><p>“Who even is she?” the other vampire stared slightly down at him, his face showing no emotions.</p><p>“Just a girl I’ve met at the bar last night,” Julien frowned. “I spoke to her when… when my date was being…”</p><p>“Murdered,” William stated mercilessly. “No surprises there.”</p><p>“William, I’m so…” Julien began, but the other man stopped him with a heavy look of his amber eyes that now turned almost brown.</p><p>“Save it,” he slid to sit in the chair, throwing one leg over the other. “I’m not here to listen to your late apologies. I’ve learned something today that you might find… interesting.”</p><p>The blond man reached for his glass, swirled the drink watching it lick the sides of the glass, and took a sip, wincing slightly at the taste. He didn’t hurry to deliver the news, and Julien sat there, his eyes burned into the other man, waiting for him to continue speaking.</p><p>The soft ticking of the antique floor clock was the only sound that disturbed the silence, and Julien almost found himself zoning out when the other man finally opened his mouth again.</p><p>“The name Albert Bishop rings a bell?”</p><p>The dark-haired man frowned in thought and shook his head slowly. “No.”</p><p>“Think better,” William reached into his pocket and threw a piece of paper onto the table.</p><p>Julien reached for what turned out to be an old photograph folded in half, with a picture of a man dressed in military uniform of the beginning of the previous century. He stared at the photo, memories slowly coming back to him as he kept looking at the young, powerfully built man.</p><p>“How’s now?” the other vampire’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.</p><p>“He’s been dead for over a century now,” Julien put the photograph onto the table, his gaze still drawn to it against his will.</p><p>“Your information is out of date,” William swiped up the phone screen and threw the gadget at the other man. “He’s working for the vampire unit now.”</p><p>Julien felt nausea reaching his throat, almost making him cough. Now, that he saw the picture, he remembered exactly who Albert was.</p><p>“What is that you’re saying?” he wheezed out.</p><p>“Read it yourself. He only joined the unit a few months ago, and before then, he’s been traveling a lot… all the cities that you used to live in before you settled here, he’s been there.”</p><p>“I’ve lived here all those years ago,” Julien mumbled to himself. “And he only found me now when I returned?”</p><p>He shook his head, questions overflowing his brain as he tried to make sense of anything that he just learned. A human that he thought was dead for a century turned out to be very much alive and, if William was right, somehow involved in the recent events?</p><p>“Who turned him?” the dark-haired man finally managed to ask, deciding to focus on one thing at a time.</p><p>“That’s an interesting question,” William scowled. “I was going to ask you before I saw that ludicrously dumb expression on your face.”</p><p>“You thought it was me?!” Julien spluttered.</p><p>The other vampire shrugged and pointed towards the phone that Julien still had in his hand. “There’s more. He insisted the vampire unit appointed him to investigate this case.”</p><p>“What does it mean? He’s the one who’s trying to frame me?”</p><p>“Or it’s all just a huge coincidence,” William rolled his eyes, standing up. “From what I’ve heard, they don’t have enough proofs to come for you, but it’s just a matter of time when they connect all the dots – or someone helps them to. I suggest you lay low and let me…”</p><p>“I’m not going to hide!” Julien jumped to her feet, nervous energy pouring out of him. “And I’m not waiting for some baby vampire to come for me for what I’ve done a hundred years ago!”</p><p>William’s face twisted in anger for a short moment before he took it under control, tutting at that outburst. Julien, pacing back and forth, barely noticed the other vampire’s reaction and ran his fingers through the dark strands of his hair. Now, his little investigation seemed even more necessary than before – if Albert was the one behind this, he could only imagine the extent of what that man was capable of, after what he’s done to him.</p><p>The other man watched him jigging up and down for a moment before snapping his fingers to return Julien’s attention back on himself.</p><p>“That’s what I figured,” William said finally, his eyes flickering darkly.</p><p>“He’s not your fan either,” the dark-haired man collapsed onto the couch.</p><p>“Only because I was unfortunate enough to be associated with you,” William spat out. “A mistake that I’m not going to make again.”</p><p>The blond vampire got up and moved towards the door, stopping only when he was already in the doorframe, his figure slumping forward for a moment as his hand grabbed onto the frame roughly.</p><p>“You okay?” Julien was next to him in a split of a second, making a movement to hold the other man.</p><p>William pushed himself further away from him, his face radiating only annoyance.</p><p>“I have a business meeting with the mayor scheduled for tomorrow morning,” he said finally. “I will ask him about the investigation, bet he stays in the loop on that one. And you and your little human,” his eyes burned into Julien’s with uncovered abhorrence.</p><p>He didn’t finish the sentence, only pushed himself out of the door and disappeared in the darkness of the forest around the house, leaving Julien to digest all the developments. Most of the memories of those times were blocked in his mind, all painted blood-red, they were nothing but screams of someone’s pain and his pleasure, and he didn’t want to bring them back to life. It took him decades to leave that part of his life in the past, but now, the past seemed to be catching up to him, and Julien was terrified of what it might bring into his life.</p><p>He shook his head heading towards the small bar in the living room to find a small vial filled with red liquid: he could go forever without sleep, but now, he needed it. The only way to process all of this and not to drive himself insane was while dreaming, and Julien emptied the vial, wincing at the taste, before walking towards the bedroom, tearing the clothes off his body on the way.</p><p>It was time to remind himself of what exactly he’s done to make someone wish revenge so much they went through all these lengths to get to him – and to make his sworn brother hate him so deeply his hatred could be felt physically.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Monsters Wear Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hold up,” Scarlett put a steaming mug on the kitchen counter and reached up to grab a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf of the cabinet.</p><p>Her loose dark-burgundy t-shirt pulled up baring the skin of her back, and Julien found his eyes glued to the island of soft, silky-smooth skin for a second. He shook his head, focusing his attention on the half-dead plant sitting on the counter next to him as the redhead busied herself fixing him a drink.</p><p>“Who the hell is Albert?”</p><p>She threw a large chunk of ice into a short glass, squeezed a lemon, poured the liquor, a triple portion, and put the drink before the vampire, her eyebrows still raised in a question. “Didn’t you say you knew him decades ago?”</p><p>The girl climbed the barstool next to him and continued, wrapping her long fingers around the mug. “And didn’t you say he was a human?”</p><p>Julien sighed, swirling the drink inside the glass, “Well, apparently, not anymore. A vampire who hates my guts, just a perfect storyline for a cheap novel.”</p><p>“Why does he hate you?” her piercing emeralds of eyes burned into the vampire, and he found it hard to breathe for just a second.</p><p>That night, he had all the time in the world to remember what he did – and how much he hated himself for it. And how much William hated him, too. Taking the sleeping potion was the only way to remember everything without <em>feeling</em> it, but even with it, Julien felt like he just relieved the events of many years ago.</p><p>He sighed, downed his drink, and turned to the girl sitting next to him. She caught his stare and move her hand so it lay on top of his. “Just tell me,” she said softly. “Maybe there’s something that will help to make some sense out of this situation.”</p><p>He and William were friends, brothers. Together, they were two sides of the same coin. They’ve met about two hundred years ago, during the War of 1812, both joined the armies of their countries out of incredible boredom and the need to let out at least a small part of the build-up of anger, frustration, and monotony.</p><p>They were fighting against each other, letting the adrenaline take over, crashing each other’s bones and nearly ripping each other’s heads off – and then, they would go to a nearby village and feed together, enjoying the horror in the eyes of their victims.</p><p>When the war stopped being entertaining enough, they went on a spree across all the states, leaving bloody trails behind. That was for over a hundred years until they found themselves in the middle of another war. There, they’ve met Albert. Just another soldier among hundreds of thousands, Julien couldn’t tell why he found himself interested in the young man – but he did, and he invited him to join him and William as they went to the only open pub in a small town where they were stationed.</p><p>There, Albert told them about his younger sister that he left back home and who he’s been missing and showed them a picture that he was carrying with him everywhere he went. Something about the girl captivated the vampire, and Julien couldn’t stop staring at the photo until the mortal folded it and hid inside his pocket.</p><p>Since that moment, Julien became obsessed. He couldn’t push the thoughts of the blonde-haired girl with the large eyes filled with warmth and the gentlest smile playing on her lips. He couldn’t stop thinking about what it’d be like to run his fingers over that silky-smooth skin, dig his teeth deep into her throat, feel her blood pour into him.</p><p>The vampire didn’t know what’s gotten into him, but the more Albert spoke about his sister, the more intense Julien’s thirst became. His fixation became almost unbearable by the time Albert was sent back home, and both vampires followed him there.</p><p>“Angela, Albert’s sister, saw William, and it was an instant connection,” Julien pushed the empty glass aside and got to his feet to walk to the window.</p><p>He stood there for a few long minutes, staring outside at the setting sun and the streetlights that lit up synchronically when the last tiny bit of it hid behind the horizon. Immediately, he felt the rush of strength coursing through him and his senses sharpening.</p><p>Scarlett stayed where she was, waiting for the man to continue with the story, but he seemed to be lost in his thoughts as his eyes pierced through the glass of the window and were now glued to something outside. She frowned, grazing her full, wryly glimmering bottom lip between her teeth, and if the vampire glanced at her, he would’ve seen a look of hesitation casting over her beautiful face.</p><p>Slowly, she slid off the barstool and walked towards him, stopping next to Julien. Now, that she was barefoot, the top of her head barely reached his chin, and she propped herself onto the windowsill, resting her back and head against the cool glass. The vampire snapped out of his thoughts, tilting his head to his side, eyes slowly traveling up and down her body almost automatically.</p><p>One of the sleeves of her t-shirt slipped off the shoulder, baring a part of her fragile collarbone, and for a moment, he found his stare glued to the tiny birthmark on it.</p><p>Julien shook his head and continued, not meeting the girl’s eyes, “William was just like me, a bloody monster that killed for fun,” his voice filled with bitterness that he didn’t know was living inside of him still. “He was supposed to be my brother. He knew <em>I</em> wanted her. But he took her.”</p><p>He ran his hand through the dark layers of his hair. This story happened more than a century ago, he wasn’t that monster anymore – but even talking about it made his body shiver with cold chills running down his spine.</p><p>“And the worst part was that he made her believe he was good. He suddenly believed he was good – or <em>could</em> be good,” Julien’s voice cracked just a little, but Scarlett heard it and caught his eyes.</p><p>“It upset you?” she asked simply, knowing the answer already.</p><p>“I was different back then,” he frowned. “I wouldn’t know bad from good. I wanted her, and he took her from me… he left me for her,” he added barely audible. “Just a ridiculous human, that’s who he’s chosen over me.”</p><p>He was so mad he could barely think at all when he’s heard that William was planning to stay with Angela. The anger was boiling in his vein when the other vampire dropped the news on Julien with a smile so bright it put the sun to shame. He had the nerve to tell him he was choosing her, after just a few weeks he’s spent with the girl – the girl Julien dreamt of all those nights.</p><p>He didn’t know what hurt him more, but he was sure that he wanted William to feel the same pain he’s brought onto him. Those memories have been bottled up for so long and now they were standing before Julien’s eyes, and he felt sick to his stomach. He remembered speeding to Albert’s house where his sister was alone at that time of day, remembered walking inside greeted by her radiant smile that turned into a mask of horror when she saw his bared teeth.</p><p>And then, there was blood. Her blood. Everywhere. On the walls, on his clothes, on his tongue. It turned his vision red, it was the only thing that existed at that moment, the smell of it, the taste of it, the feeling of life rushing out of the girl’s body along with it.</p><p>“William knew it was me,” Julien’s voice had no emotion to it, all of his feelings concentrated in a tight painful knot in his chest. “And Albert… I don’t know how he found out, but now you know why he’s dreaming of revenge.”</p><p>He ended the story abruptly, unable to continue, and turned away from the girl in front of him.</p><p>“No matter how much they both hate me – I hate myself more,” he added balling his hands into fists powerlessly. “Not just for her, but for all of them. For everyone I’ve killed and hurt. My soul is rotting in an earthy hell for it.”</p><p>A whirlwind of emotions ran across the redhead’s face before she finally moved closer to the man and put her hand onto his shoulder making Julien turn to face her again. He didn’t want to see the horror in her eyes, but he knew he deserved it – and so, he obliged, catching her gaze. There was no horror. There was a lot, but she wasn’t scared, and he couldn’t understand why.</p><p>“Why?” he voiced the question, grabbing her shoulders suddenly.</p><p>“Why what?” she raised an eyebrow slightly, the only reaction to his actions.</p><p>“Why aren’t you yelling at me to get the hell out of your home? Why aren’t you scared? There’s a monster standing before you.”</p><p>“So are we all, dear,” she said, taking his blazing stare calmly. “The thing to decide is what kind of monster to be.”*</p><p>He stared down at the girl, unable to understand the mystery of her. She wasn’t pretending, he knew. Her pulse was calm, her breathing steady, and she smelled of licorice and exotic flowers, no scent of panic or fear. There he was, a murderer who could feel a pound with the blood he shed, and she was just looking at him almost kindly.</p><p>Julien let go of her shoulders and entangled his fingers in the strands of his hair, and she chuckled at this so human habit of his.</p><p>“Alright, big bad vampire,” she said finally. “What’s the plan now? Find the guy? Apologize? Does he have another sister you could eat?”</p><p>His eyes widened to the point it felt like they took the entire space on the man’s face, and the redhead laughed again.</p><p>“Too soon?” she threw her hands up.</p><p>“I-I want to see him,” Julien frowned at how unsure his voice sounded.</p><p>“Not wise,” Scarlett shook her head. “If he’s the one behind this…”</p><p>“Just to make sure it’s really him,” the vampire crossed his arms over his chest, then dropped them to hang on both sides of his body. “I’ve heard he died a few years after his sister and went to the cemetery. I saw his grave.”</p><p>The redhead flipped her hair over her shoulder, fixing her shirt, “I guess if we stay far from him, it can be arranged. You said he’s with the vampire unit?”</p><p>Julien nodded watching the girl type something on her phone. They waited for a response in silence, and he had to stop himself from asking who she just texted so many times he’d lost the count. Finally, the screen of her phone lit up with a message, and Scarlett looked up to meet the vampire’s gaze.</p><p>“Well, I guess we’ll have to take a long ride tonight to see your old friend.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>* Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Dancing Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Where we’re going?” Julien glanced at Scarlett as she took the passenger’s seat of his car and threw her feet onto the dashboard, ignoring the seatbelt.</p><p>“Out of town,” she shoved her phone in his face, and the vampire frowned.</p><p>“How does your friend know he’ll be there?”</p><p>He started the engine, and the car slowly flown into the stream of traffic while the redhead flipped through the radio stations searching for the one that wasn’t ‘freakishly vampirish’. The girl finally relaxed against the back of her seat and tilted her head to her shoulder, looking at Julien from below her long lashes.</p><p>Her lip gloss shone wetly in the nightlights when she spoke, “Because his daddy works for those who control the unit,” her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.</p><p>Julien’s mouth was ready to spit out a question, but the man stopped himself, focusing on the road ahead. After several long minutes and two changes of songs, Scarlett finally interrupted the silence between them.</p><p>“Why did you ask him for help?” she wondered without turning her head. “You knew he’s still mad with you.”</p><p>He didn’t have to ask who she was talking about. He knew how much hatred William still had for him, the other vampire made it crystal clear when they’ve met a few years ago when Julien returned to the town and found out that his once friend lived there, too. They agreed to share the town on the grounds that they never see one another which wasn’t that hard: Julien barely ever left his house.</p><p>When he realized that someone’s been plotting against him, his first thought was to go to the older vampire. As if there wasn’t this tragedy standing between them.</p><p>Realizing that the pause had lasted for too long, Julien shrugged unconvincingly, “Old habits die hard.”</p><p>Scarlett huffed under her breath, and the vampire glance towards the girl who was now sitting half-turned to him, one leg tucked under her. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question, and she rolled her eyes at the arrogant gesture.</p><p>“I can tell when you’re not saying the truth.”</p><p>“Is that so?” Julien finally left the town limits and was now driving in almost complete darkness down the road surrounded by tall, century-old trees.</p><p>“Consider it my superpower,” she nodded. “You can rip someone’s head off with your teeth, and I can tell whenever someone’s being a fat ugly liar.”</p><p>Almost spluttering, the vampire stared at her, “Those vampire jokes are hilarious,” he said dryly, evoking another small laugh out of the girl.</p><p>“I know,” she smirked, flipping her long curls over her shoulder. “Have you been to this place before?”</p><p>The change of topic was immediate, and it took him a short moment to switch his focus back to the mission. Julien nodded, frowning. Unlike Andrew’s Pandemonium, the club they were going to wasn’t based on consent. Usually, it was filled with vampires gone rogue who used that place to feed off unsuspecting mortals. Unlike Pandemonium, this place was located in a somewhat big city, and big cities mean one thing: anonymity. No one knows each other, no one will notice if their neighbor disappears because they have two hundred more.</p><p>Albert that Julien remembered would’ve never went to a place like that – but that Albert was dead, and Julien had to remind himself of that. The death of his sister killed Albert.</p><p>“Strange that your friend likes to hang out there,” the redhead broke the silence once again. “Being the Head of the vampire unit, don’t think he’s supposed to be seen in places like this.”</p><p>“That unit has been always like that,” Julien frowned. “They would hold public lynching to show mortals that they’re there to protect them while it’s them who cause the most harm. But most people don’t see woods for the trees and trust that those in power actually give a shit about them.”</p><p>The girl cocked her head, “Sounds about right.”</p><p>“What about you?” Julien took a turn that led to the city and glanced at the redhead. “You work for Andrew, know everyone in town… how come I’ve never seen you before?”</p><p>She gave him a long, pensive look, and her eyes darkened a little when small wolfish specks of yellow-colored her green irises. Scarlett ran her fingers through the curls of her hair that contrasted brightly with the fair porcelain of her skin and the black fabric of her short dress that left her long legs bare but hid her neck and arms completely.</p><p>“What makes you think you’ve never seen me?” she asked finally, and her eyes caught his gaze.</p><p>“I would’ve remembered a girl who fluffs off vampires left and right.”</p><p>She laughed softly, tipping her body towards him, “Well, it didn’t work with you, did it?”</p><p>“I’m very persistent,” Julien smirked, catching a glimmer in the redhead’s eyes that he’s never seen there before.</p><p>Scarlett studied him with her eyes and nodded slowly, her voice dropping lower as she finally responded with a soft chuckle, “I hadn’t noticed.”</p><p>She leaned back against her seat falling silent for the rest of their trip. Julien’s car maneuvered through the busy traffic until they finally reached a large building in the city downtown with flashy neon signs and a line before the entrance.</p><p>“Where you’re going?” the girl frowned as Julien drove the car past them.</p><p>“There’s no parking,” he pointed toward one of the signs, and she rolled her eyes so hard he could almost hear it.</p><p>“You’re a vampire or what?”</p><p>He left the car right under the sign, and they walked toward the entrance. Scarlett’s stiletto heels clicked against the pavement, and somehow, this sound helped him to calm down enough to give the vampire at the doors a smug smirk as they entered the club. The music deafened them both almost immediately, and the redhead pressed herself into him to scream into the vampire’s ear.</p><p>“Can you see him?”</p><p>They moved to the darkest corner, and Julien started scanning the room. The smell of liquor and blood was overwhelming, he could barely focus on anything else.</p><p>“Come on,” she squeezed his shoulder. “Focus.”</p><p>Finally, he saw him. Albert looked a few years older than when Julien saw him the last time, but it was him. He stumbled backward involuntarily, and Scarlett followed his eyes until she spotted the other vampire on the opposite side of the room, sitting on the velvet couch in the company of three girls.</p><p>Her eyes darted towards Julien, catching on the shock that he was trying to hide, and she suddenly tossed her hair and nodded, her decision made.</p><p>“Stay there,” she leaned closer to speak into the vampire’s ear.</p><p>“What? Where you’re going?”</p><p>“You want to know what the guy’s been up to all this time. I can make him talk.”</p><p>Julien’s eyes widened, “Absolutely not. I’m not making a bait out of you.”</p><p>“Try to stop me.”</p><p>She shoved him away from herself with a strength he didn’t expect and moved confidently towards the center of the hall. She glanced back at him and shook her head ever so slightly, and Julien’s shoulders slumped in defeat as he watched her running her hands through the fire-red curls.</p><p>The music changed, turning into a viscous, slow melody that cleared the dancefloor from most of the people, leaving the spotlights to play on Scarlett’s body.</p><p><em>“…</em> <em>Baby I can't sleep tonight,</em> <em><br/>
Cause I want you,<br/>
Want you tonight…</em> <em>”</em></p><p>Slowly, her hands ran up the sides of her legs moving to her thighs as she straightened herself back up, tracing her fingers lazily over her sides and all the way to her neck hidden under the high collar of her dress.</p><p>Her movements were lazy and languid, her body turned into a liquid as her it writhed like one of a snake. She stood with her back turned to Julien, and a tiny part of his brain that was still able to manage a thought wished he could see her eyes at that moment.</p><p>
  <em>“…Everything's so good and</em><br/>
<em>Everything's so right,</em><br/>
<em>When you're holding me tight…”</em>
</p><p>She knew everyone in the club was watching, and the strength of their emotions was so powerful she could barely stand on her feet under its impact. She could feel the hungry stares, and instead of scaring her, it made her stronger, almost invincible, this knowledge that it was just the movements of her body that made them feel that way.</p><p>She could see Albert with the corner of her eyes, even though she didn’t have to: the intensity of his stare was burning holes in her body as she leaned forwards, raising her arms above her head, crossing her wrists together for a long moment before sliding one hand down the other arm.</p><p>
  <em>“…But tomorrow never comes and</em><br/>
<em>Everything we do is so wrong…”</em>
</p><p>She couldn’t tell what made her want to do this, what made her want to help Julien despite everything – but at that moment, she let this sudden impulse control her. She remembered the way he looked at her the other day while she was dancing at Pandemonium, and felt the need to see his eyes, drink the sight of his tense face, even for just a moment.</p><p>A slow wave ran through the curves of her body as she turned towards where she left Julien, and her eyes snapped up, meeting the blazing stare of his dark eyes. The world fell apart for a split of a second and then snapped back on as her hand pressed into her neck on the way down her body, and the girl turned slightly away.</p><p>
  <em>“…And I can't take another night without you,</em><br/>
<em>Heal my need, holding me tight,</em><br/>
<em>And you disturb and I look at that we're gone…”</em>
</p><p>The music died out gently before changing into another fast, heavy beat, and Scarlett felt someone’s big strong on her shoulder and turned unhurriedly to meet Albert’s eyes.</p><p>“Hello, beautiful.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Midnight in Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Albert wrapped his arm around Scarlett’s shoulders, and both of them moved through the crowd to the private booth. Just one look was enough for the girls to disappear, and the vampire pointed towards the velvet couch.</p><p>Julien watched them from across the club, trying to make out anything from what the other man was telling his companion, but the music was too loud, all other sounds were drowning in the heavy beat. Scarlett sat down next to the vampire, her short black dress pulled up exposing her thighs, and Albert’s eyes darted downwards for a split of a second, making Julien’s stomach flip.</p><p>Had he become a vampire because of what happened to his sister? Did he want to get revenge so badly he chose to turn into a monster to get one?</p><p>Albert that Julien remembered was naïve and brave and wanted the war to be over. That Albert wouldn’t care if the person was an enemy, if someone needed his help, he was there to offer it. That Albert didn’t have a feral grin and icy glimmer of a cold-blooded murderer in his eyes. But that Albert died when Julien ripped his sister’s throat.</p><p>Since then, a century had passed, but Julien could still feel the warm blood pouring into his mouth as the woman who rejected him was convulsing, dying in his arms. He could still remember the rage coursing through his body, could feel the anger that made him do what he did, the disappointment and pain. The pain of losing someone he came to think of as a part of himself. At that moment, he hated William more than he ever hated anyone or anything, he wanted to hurt him just as much as he hurt him.</p><p>Annoyed, Julien ran his fingers through the dark strands of his hair, shaking off the reminiscences and focusing back on Scarlett and Albert.</p><p>With his arm around the girl’s shoulders and his hand on her thigh, the other vampire sat so close to the redhead, Julien could swear he was able to hear the blood running through her veins, could smell it just as well as her heavy, dark perfume. And somehow, this notion made Julien feel sick to his stomach.</p><p>Albert’s hand moved slightly upwards, and without thinking, Julien pushed himself off the wall, his body reacting to the picture before his mind could’ve processed anything. The Head of the vampire unit sat with his face half-turned to Scarlett and couldn’t see him, unlike the redhead. With the corner of her eye, she noticed Julien moving closer to them, and her body went rigid. Catching his glance, she slowly shook her head ‘no’, and the man stopped in his tracks.</p><p>He watched her as the girl leaned closer into the other vampire, and once again, her was amazed by how confident, how <em>fearless </em>she was. He’s seen other mortals who spend time with the vampires, he’s seen so many of Andrew’s girls who work at the club and let the vampires feed off them, catching the high – but she was different.</p><p>Everything about her was different, nothing like any other woman he’s ever met. She was a mystery, and no matter how much he wanted to solve her, part of him enjoyed not knowing her secret. Part of him wanted to keep trying forever but never really crack it. Frowning, Julien stumbled out of the way of a group of girls as his thoughts kept swirling inside his head.</p><p>This wasn’t the time or place to think about whatever it was he was thinking about. A mystery? She was just a mortal girl that loved adrenaline too much. The music changed yet again, and he caught the sight of her yet again, and the blood boiled in his veins as he saw Albert’s face buried in the girl’s neck.</p><p>At that moment, he couldn’t think about anything else but the way the girl’s hand clenched on the vampire’s shoulders. His body moved without the command from his mind, rushing to get to the couple before Albert does something to <em>her</em>. As if she felt him getting close, Scarlett snapped her eyes up just in time to see Julien’s angry face.</p><p>Unceremoniously, she pushed Albert off of herself and jumped to her feet. From where he was, Julien could hear how she threw “I need a bathroom” to Albert and walked off, maneuvering through the dancing bodies.</p><p>With the force he couldn’t expect from her, she pushed him roughly, making him return into the shadowed part of the hall, her eyes ablaze.</p><p>“What the hell?!” she snapped. “I told you to stay put.”</p><p>“You’re not my boss,” Julien snapped back. “I’m not letting you get hurt because of me.”</p><p>She stared at him blankly for the longest moment, her eyes searching for something in his face. Finally, she sighed and gathered her hair together, baring her neck.</p><p>“I’m fine, see?”</p><p>His eyes darted to the soft skin that was glowing in the colorful lights around them. She was fine, and a large breath of relief escaped his lips. Scarlett studied his face as he slowly reached his fingers to run lightly over her neck as if to make sure his sight wasn’t lying, and he felt her heart beating faster as he touched her skin.</p><p>Julien swallowed hard unable to tear his gaze off of her sparkling green eyes that now looked almost black.</p><p>“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered finally, and she nodded following him outside.</p><p>Cold, ozone-filled air created bright contrast with Julien’s flushed skin, and he turned to the girl, spotting her shiver under a gust of wind in her revealing dress. He was only wearing his shirt, so he moved closer and wrapped an arm around her, forgetting that his body was the same temperature that the air around them. She didn’t say a word, allowing him to walk her to the car in silence.</p><p>If he was able to read her, he’d known she was too flabbergasted with what she just learned – that he <em>did</em> care about her, and she had no idea what to do with that.</p><p>She sent him a glance as they reached the car, and Julien opened the passenger’s door for her. She didn’t rush to take her seat standing there in front of him, studying his face as she looked at the vampire from beneath her long black eyelashes. He saw the uncertainty on her face as if there was something, she wanted to tell him but couldn’t. Or didn’t want to.</p><p>Finally, she got into the car, and he pulled out driving the car out of the town without asking if she wanted to go home. He could feel short, thoughtful glances she sent his way but never dared to break the silence between them. His scattered thoughts were like a flock of scared crows, and the man just drove down the dark, empty road surrounded by tall trees that in the headlights looked like figures reaching their bony hands towards the car.</p><p>He parked before his house and finally turned to look Scarlett in the eyes, his body going aflame the moment his gaze met hers.</p><p>He almost ripped the door out of the car body as he used the vampire speed to get them out of it, carrying the girl inside in his arms not to waste a second. Inside his drowning in moonlight house, he put her down, his hands still grasping on her sides as Julien looked at the redhead, silent in his eyes.</p><p>Without a word, she pushed him against the wall leaning into the man with her entire body, her hot fingers wrapping around his neck as she pulled herself up to capture his mouth with her soft plump lips that tasted of cherry. Her perfume mixed with the scent of her body enveloped the vampire, filling up his nose, his lungs until she was the only thing he could smell.</p><p>His arms snaked around her waist, lifting her up, and she wrapped her legs around him, making him growl into the kiss as she rubbed herself against his hard length. The heat of her body set his skin ablaze every tiny part that she touched burned under the contact, making him want to pull away and press himself even harder against her, all at once. Her lips moved down his neck leaving a wet trail behind, her tongue tracing patterns that made his entire body shiver at the contrast between her hot touch and the cold air around them.</p><p>Entangled into her limbs, he moved towards the stairs to the second floor abruptly, stumbling into furniture and against the handrails as Scarlett’s hands found their way underneath his shirt, caressing the muscles of his stomach, moving downwards to unbuckle his belt. He sucked in the air when her fingers snaked under the waistband of his briefs.</p><p>He hastily reached his bedroom, throwing the girl onto his bed and hovering above her, his eyes wild and dark, drinking in the sight of her matted hair and flushed skin, her lips red and swollen. From under her heavy lids, she looked back at the vampire propping herself up to grab the collar of his shirt pulling him closer roughly. He collapsed against her, pinning her down with the weight of his body, and she kissed him hungrily, her nails digging into his neck as she flipped their positions, now sitting on top of him, her heavy hair creating a wall between them and the rest of the world.</p><p>He gasped under the roughness of her touch when she yanked his pants down his legs along with the briefs, raking hold of him, stroking him firmly. Julien’s hands ran up her legs pressed into the bed on both sides of him, snaked under the hem of her dress pulling the fabric up, helping her roll it up her body until it was off and fell onto the floor next to the bed. Underneath it, she was completely naked, the curves of her body flowing perfectly together.</p><p>He could see only her, smell only her, feel only her when she sunk herself down onto him, her eyes burned into his, her body trembling when he filled her completely, his teeth baring in a low growl of pleasure as she clenched all over him. Leaning forward, she grabbed his hands pinning them into the bed above his head as she started moving on him, her face just an inch away from his, her heavy breath ghosting on his parched lips.</p><p>The smell of her sex made his entire body erupt into hot goosebumps, her eyes hypnotized him, made him unable to look away for a split of a second, the movements of her body taking him further and further away from the bedroom.</p><p>He needed more. More of her body, of her smell, of her taste, more of <em>her.</em></p><p>For her, he was insatiable.</p><p>Before she could notice, he pushed them both up, crashing her against the wall, his hands protecting her back from the hit. He thrust into her forcefully, so hard it made her eyes roll back into her head as she lost control, letting herself surrender to him. Her head lolled back exposing her skin, a tiny vein pulsing at the junction between the neck and her shoulders, and his hand clenched harder on the girl’s back.</p><p>She glanced at him through the haze following the wild stare of his eyes, and her hands moved up his arms and across his shoulders coming to rest on his face making him look at her as the redwood floor clock struck midnight. </p><p>Without a word, she pulled him closer, guiding his face to the glistering skin of her neck. He could tear her into pieces, they both knew it. He almost froze at the realization of what she was doing, unable to resist the temptation but not willing to give in. He was a monster – but she acted as if he could be trusted, she, of everyone.</p><p>Breathing heavily, he started moving again, and she threw her head back, her eyes falling shut as his tongue ran over the thin skin that stood between him and the taste of her blood. He smelled its rich, heavy scent, he felt its warmth, he heard it pumping through her veins – and every single cell of his body wanted to taste it on his tongue.</p><p>His thrusts became erratic, the sensory overload so strong it made his body tremble and shudder, and Scarlett’s fingers dug deeper into his skin, and she dropped her forehead onto his shoulder, her walls clenching and pulsing around him, and he moved one hand between their bodies, twisting his wrist to circle her clit as she started coming all over him, sucking him so deep he could barely move, the waves of pleasure spreading through him.</p><p>Her climax hit them both, and he felt her teeth sinking into the hollow of his neck, a sensation that sent him over the edge, too, his low growl echoing off the walls as he came deep inside of her, his hips jerking frantically riding out the high until his knees gave out, and they both collapsed on the floor.</p><p>Lying on top of him, Scarlett smirked sleepily, “Good vampire.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. A Dish Best-Served Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A bright ray of afternoon sun fell on Julien’s face, catching in his eyelashes and playing on the bridge of his nose. He mumbled something in his sleep, rolled over hiding from the light, and cracked one eye open. He was still lying on the fur thrown in the center of the room, wrapped in a blanket, alone. Scarlett was gone, the only remnants of her presence was her smell lingering on Julien’s skin and the blanket that she covered him up with.</p><p>Stretching with his whole body, the vampire sat up and looked around, the memories of last night crashing over him. The club, seeing what happened to Albert, the feelings that took over him when he saw the other vampire’s hands all over Scarlett… Frowning, Julien threw the blanket aside and got to his feet, wincing in the unexpectedly cheerful sunlight.</p><p>He moved around picking up the clothes that were scattered over the room, the signs of the last night, the night he didn’t spend on his own for the first time in many decades, the night she was there, in his house, in his arms, filling the space around with herself.</p><p>And now, without Scarlett, the room seemed empty, the entire house lonely and forgotten, even more so now when it knew what it was like, to have someone there. When <em>he</em> knew how it felt, not be alone among these walls.</p><p>Julien snorted at his thoughts glancing in one of the mirrors that covered the entire bathroom wall. <em>Chill out, Romeo.</em></p><p>But for a moment that it took him to get dressed, he allowed his mind to take him a few hours back, to when the redhead was wrapped into his arms, her body warm and soft against his own. She collapsed on top of him, her breathing ragged and heart pounding so fast and hard against his chest, it was as if his own just suddenly went alive, after all the years.</p><p>Her heavy-lidded eyes shone at him as she let a small grin curl her lips upwards, her hair damp and messy and smelling of him when she rolled off of him, nuzzling into his side like a big cat. Her breathing deepened, became slower, and he wrapped himself around her, catching the side of the large fell to wrap it around them, barely moving not to disturb her sleep.</p><p>She was so warm, her warmth slowly sunk under his skin, filling him from within, the slow rising and falling of her chest under his fingertips lulling him to sleep that he didn’t need but couldn’t – didn’t want to – resist. He fell asleep next to her, for the first time in decades without a potion, and he couldn’t just brush it off. He couldn’t brush off the fact that she trusted him this night. Trusted like no one had in so long it seemed like an eternity.</p><p>And there wasn’t a way not to think about it. There wasn’t any chance for him not to want to see her again, right now.</p><p>Shaking himself into action, Julien moved back to where he slept, the man noticed a piece of paper stuck in the folds of the blanket and bent over to catch it between his fingers as he threw the cover back onto the bed. It was a note written in a spidery writing, thin pointed lines of it were flowing together fancifully, the black ink thickening at the points where Scarlett’s hand stopped for a moment.</p><p>For a second, he just stared at her handwriting that somehow felt <em>her</em>. All those pointy lines that somehow curled together softly were just like Scarlett, like her gentle touches mixed with the sharp words leaving her mouth; the soft curves of her body and the snappy, almost arrogant attitude; her hot skin and cold eyes… Shaking his head at the ridiculousness of his thoughts, he started reading.</p><p>
  <em>Julien,</em>
</p><p><em>I’ll be gone when you <strong>w</strong>ake up, and you might feel the need to call or text me because you’re a damn clingfish <strong>i</strong>n a form of a vampire</em> (Julien chuckled ever so slightly at the little smiley face next to the statement) <em>but I won’t answer. All of this was a mistake, I should’ve never <strong>l</strong>et <strike>th</strike> myself get involved, and I’ve only got myse<strong>l</strong>f to blame.</em></p><p>
  <em>Please, be careful. Someone wants to hurt you, and <strong>I</strong> (the sentence stopped as if she couldn’t write whatever she wanted to tell him, and Julien felt a knot tighten in his stomach as he continued reading)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’ll try to fix everything, but you should w<strong>a</strong>tch out. You can’t trust hi<strong>m</strong>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>p.s.: your car will be parked across the street from Pandemonium.</em>
</p><p>Almost unconsciously, Julien stepped closer to the window to look outside. His car was gone, and somehow, it snapped him out of the weird trance that her letter put him in. As his eyes ran over the lines again, and this time, he noticed what he’d missed. The letters connected together, creating a whimsy pattern that made the man’s face freeze turning into a lifeless mask.</p><p>Slowly, he folded the paper and pushed it into the pocket of his pants, his eyes glimmering dangerously in the bright light of unexpectedly warm autumn day. Trying not to think about what he just read, Julien went downstairs and poured himself a large glass of whiskey, drinking it in tiny sips as he sat in a heavy chair staring into the distance, waiting for the sun to go down.</p><p>He forbade himself from thinking about anything that was in the letter, not until he was able to move freely, not until he had his full strength to go and see everything for himself. Until then, he’ll just stay where he was, pretending that Scarlett did not just tell him she was connected to the murder of his unfortunate date.</p><p>He watched the sun move down the sky lazily as if it had all the time in the world. The last rays glimmered in the glass coloring the world golden, and finally, the twilight fell onto the world. The same second, Julien’s vision sharpened, his nose started catching scents of warm foliage outside, and his body filled with strength, a familiar sensation spreading through his limbs as the vampire got to his feet, his eyes narrowed and lips thinned into a line.</p><p>Now, it was time to go and find his old friend.</p><p>He considered going to town to pick up his car but decided against it, driving there meant giving the heads-up to the host, and he couldn’t let that happen. If he wanted to find out the truth, he had to come there unnoticed. In disbelief, Julien glanced at his reflections in the mirror before leaving the house, still unable to process any of what he just learned.</p><p>The image of Scarlett still stood before his eyes. The redhead girl reading book at a bar, dressed to kill and completely alone. It was too good to be real, wasn’t it?</p><p>Julien frowned to himself, moving through the trees. How was it possible? He was the one who came up to her, he himself went back to the bar to find out who she was, after William’s words not to intervene, he still did. He went to Andrew’s, convinced her to help him… how could it all be staged? Was it all just a huge masterplan in which he was the dumbest pawn of all? A ridiculous puppet manipulated into a trap.</p><p><em>But she did warn you,</em> he reminded himself unable to stop questioning every encounter with the redhead. What role did she play in all of this?</p><p>He finally reached the other side of the town, his body tensing with every step that got him closer to the place of destination until he finally saw the glowing windows in the clearing among the old pine trees. Trying not to make even the tiniest noise, Julien moved in the darkness until he was within an earshot of the room where three people stood close to one another.</p><p>One human and two vampires.</p><p>His breath got caught in his throat for a moment when Julien’s eyes fell on Scarlett, taking in the tiredness of her eyes, and the determined look on her face, and her long fingers that were shaking ever so slightly as she ran them through the matted curls of her hair.</p><p>She stood between Albert and William, fearlessly, fiercely, a lioness ready to jump, and both vampires seemed to be taken aback as she spoke, her voice calm and collected, without a note of hesitation.</p><p>“He’s sorry for everything he’s done,” Julien’s heard only the end of the sentence, but he had a good guess of who she was talking about. “He barely sleeps, and when he does, he has to take some kind of a potion. He regrets everything he’s done to both of you if you could give him a chance…”</p><p>“He ripped my sister’s throat!” even without the vampire hearing Julien would’ve heard Albert’s voice when the man took a step towards the girl, and the way his hand clenched on her shoulder made Julien’s body tense immediately.</p><p>Calmly, Scarlett shook his hand off.</p><p>“How many people have you killed since then?” she wondered nonchalantly. “Is either of you blameless? In your revenge for the life of an innocent girl, you’ve murdered an innocent girl, don’t catch the irony?”</p><p>William’s brows pinched together as he shook his head, glancing around, an unsettled look on his face, “You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“Frankly, I don’t care,” Scarlett took a step away from the vampires and wrapped her arms over her chest. “This little game of yours, I don’t want to be a part of it anymore. I’ve paid my debt, in full,” she sent William a look full of disgust. “We’re even now. You’ve made your point, you’ve made him suffer. It’s time to stop.”</p><p>The redhead looked at both men in turns and added quietly, “She’s dead. She’s been dead for over a century, it’s time to let go.”</p><p>She reached to grab her jacket from the chair when Julien saw a sudden movement with the corner of his eyes. It happened too fast, one second Scarlett was moving towards the exit, and the next moment her body collapsed into a petite figure of a woman with blonde hair and large, blue eyes. She grabbed ahold of the girl’s neck, and Julien felt the ground being kicked from under his feet when the woman spoke, her voice quiet and dripping with hate.</p><p>“Let go?” she hissed into the redhead’s face. “He ripped my throat open and enjoyed every second of my agony,” she continued, her grasp on Scarlett’s neck so tight it was a miracle the girl could still breathe. “And then, he left me alone, left me to die, choking on my own blood.”</p><p>She threw Scarlett away like a rag doll, and the redhead hit the wall and went moveless.</p><p>“Lock her downstairs,” the woman turned to her brother, and Albert nodded, following the order while the blonde moved to stand next to William. “You were right about her. Let’s see if you were just as right about him rushing here to save his precious human.”</p><p>A wicked smile thinned her lips as the woman stared into the night, knowing that her revenge was closer than ever.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Roses Are Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julien just stood there, hidden behind the evergreen boughs, unable to move. He watched Albert as the man dragged Scarlett’s unconscious body somewhere deeper into the house, and his mind refused to accept the reality. Angela was alive. The woman whose throat he ripped apart because of uncontrollable jealousy, the woman that meant no more once he left her bleeding body convulse on the blood-stained carpet.</p><p>How was it even possible that she was still alive?</p><p>His brows pinched together, the vampire slowly moved closer to the house, keeping in the shadows of the trees. They clearly expected him to come searching for the redhead, but he had to do something, had to save her. <em>Even though she helped them frame you.</em> He shook the thought off, focusing on the task at hand. It didn’t matter what she’d done before, now, she was trapped in a vampires’ lair, because she tried to make it right. For him.</p><p>
  <em>Was it all just pretend?</em>
</p><p>That time they went to the victim’s father, and when she kissed him so the police wouldn’t pay them attention… and what was that scene at the club last night? And what was the last night? Why had she stayed? Was it a part of the plan, too?</p><p>He couldn’t think about any of that, not when three vampires that hated him were waiting for him to make a mistake, not when they all wanted their revenge.</p><p>Julien moved carefully between the aromatic shrubs of hydrangea, hoping the flower scent will hide his own. Angela told Albert to bring the mortal downstairs, and he, pressing into the wall, moved over the building to see if there was a backdoor he could use. William lived in a wide-spread one-story house made out of thick glass. It was the same glass he had in the windows of his office, the one that prevented infrared from creeping into the room.</p><p>Finally, the pieces of the puzzle started falling back together.</p><p>Mr. LaRue told them about the guy his daughter started messaging before she started messaging him. Was it even her who was messaging him – or was it one of them, and they just used her in their game? The vampire remembered how different the girl seemed when they’ve finally met, how scared she looked for someone who claimed she was ‘fascinated with vampires.’ <em>They’ve used her, sacrificed an innocent human for their revenge.</em> His chest became heavy. Another innocent mortal suffered because of him, because of what he did.</p><p>Julien pushed the backdoor open – not even a single vampire ever closed their doors, so self-assured and cocky. Listening to the voices inside the house, he moved silently through the kitchen, hoping they won’t catch him until he finds Scarlett. In the corridor, he spotted a staircase going down and darted down, using his speed to cover the distance as fast as he could.</p><p>The first thing he saw was the wall covered in wine shelves from floor to ceiling, and for a moment, Julien thought he went in the wrong direction. And then, he saw a heavy brick door with a small window with metal bars, similar to those they held captives in a few centuries back. Not saying a word, he leaned closer to the space between the bars and saw Scarlett. She sat on the cold floor, a heavy metal chain stretched from the wall to her ankle, and Julien’s palms balled into fists.</p><p>He was angry. With her, with himself, with the vampires upstairs who dragged her into this mess instead of just finishing him off.</p><p>The girl looked up and her eyes widened as she made out his features in almost complete darkness only broken by a small dim lamp outside the cell. Before she could’ve said anything, he pressed a finger to his lips: if she spoke, those upstairs would know he was there the same moment. Looking around, Julien tried to think of what he could use to open the cell without breaking the door out – that would definitely bring a lot of unnecessary attention to him.</p><p>He bent over to look at the lock. It was old and somewhat rusty, if only he could find some kind pf a picklock…</p><p>“Julien!”</p><p>Scarlett’s scream reached his ears a second before he felt a pang of pain at the base of his neck when a needle prickled through his skin.</p><p>“Hello, Julien,” Angela’s voice was the last thing he’s heard before he fell into a thick, heavy slumber.</p><p>*** </p><p>He started waking up slowly from pain in his wrists. Blinking out of sleep, Julien groaned and lifted his head, looking around blindly. He knew what had happened: he’s been injected with a rose extract that was poisonous to vampires. Slowly, his vision went back to normal.</p><p>The first thing he saw was Angela. She stood a few steps away from him, her face frozen in a cold mask of hatred. He still couldn’t believe she was alive. How was it even possible that she survived?</p><p>She gave him a long stare that sent chills through his bones, but he barely cared as his mind snapped back on. He jerked to look around to where Scarlett was, and the pain went through his entire body. He was hung by his wrists, thick shackles wrapping his flesh tightly, slick with the rose oil that was burning on the vampire’s skin. He was shirtless and barefoot, and the soles of his feet touched rose thorns every time he moved.</p><p>“So romantic, isn’t it?” Angela’s voice was just as cold as her dead stare. “Roses used to be my favorite flowers, and now they bring only pain.”</p><p>With that, she pulled on a thick garden glove and picked up a long-stem red rose. She took a step towards Julien.</p><p>“You’re just pathetic,” Scarlett’s voice echoed from the walls, and Julien let a small sigh of relief escape his lips.</p><p>He couldn’t see her, but at least, she was able to speak. He heard her shift on the hard, cold stones of the floor as the girl continued, catching Angela’s attention, “You’ve spent decades plotting this, and what did you get? A dead girl and humiliation. You think he still cares about you?”</p><p>Julien finally managed to turn his head enough for his peripheral to catch the sight of the redhead. She sat with the back straight and her head cocked up, the emerald color of her eyes now changed into forest green with feral orange veins. She didn’t break her eye contact with the other woman, but Julien felt that she knew he was looking at her.</p><p>Tipping forward, Scarlett continued, “He feels guilt. And pity. And nothing more.”</p><p>“Shut up,” Angela snapped, rushing towards the girl and freezing just a breath away from her face. “Your little tricks won’t work on me.”</p><p>The redhead laughed, not moving a bit.</p><p>“I just tell what I know.”</p><p>The vampire’s hand flew up and crashed against Scarlett’s face, slamming the girl against the wall.</p><p>“No!” Julien jerked in his shackles, the pain so strong it almost blinded him. “Don’t touch her!”</p><p>Angela moved to him, a rose in her hand sliding over his bare chest until the thorns pressed into his skin, sending jolts of agony through him. He couldn’t even scream, his mouth was so dry he wasn’t able to mutter a sound. The most beautiful flower in the world was tearing his flesh, burning him as if a red-hot sward has been pushed through his chest.</p><p>Suddenly, she stopped, listening to something. A low irritated growl escaped Angela’s lips when she threw away the flower and moved her face to Julien’s grabbing his chin roughly. “To be continued.”</p><p>She left the cell slamming the door behind her and hid upstairs. Julien tried to turn despite the pain, his head heavy and throbbing.</p><p>“Hey,” he called. “Scarlett?”</p><p>She moaned quietly, her body shifting as she slowly sat up.</p><p>“Where’s the bitch?”</p><p>Julien frowned, “She heard something and left, I couldn’t hear what it was.”</p><p>The girl’s eyes moved up his body, widening as she saw the open wounds left with the thorns that wouldn’t heal.</p><p>“You’re not healing,” she commented. “Why you’re not healing?”</p><p>The man only groaned, and she shifted forward, moving as close to him as she could. Now, she sat almost in line with him but still couldn’t reach stems under the vampire’s feet.</p><p>“Hold still,” she moved to her knees, finally catching one of them between her fingers. “Uh!”</p><p>A spiky thorn ripped through her skin, and Julien smelled the scent of blood as it dripped onto the floor. He sucked the air through his clenched teeth before snapping out of the trance. He held breath that he didn’t even need, and the smell of the girl’s blood slowly disappeared.</p><p>“You alright?” Scarlett looked up at the vampire as she carefully removed the other stems. “Fuck, what the hell?”</p><p>She looked at her hand which was now all covered with scratches and was bleeding. “Funny side effect.”</p><p>Ignoring the pulsing pain in her palm, grabbed on the sleeve of her blouse, and tore it off to wrap around her hand. She moved so quickly, Julien barely took notice of what she was doing before she was finished. No matter how tight she bandaged her injuries, the blood was still running, turning the light crème chiffon fabric crimson.</p><p>“Why aren’t you healing?” the girl repeated her question shuffling on her knees towards the other side of the cell where she saw an old broken lamp.</p><p>“It’s the rose,” Julien croaked licking his parched lips. “It’s poison for me.”</p><p>“Not just you, apparently,” Scarlett frowned shaking her hand as if to release some kind of tension. “Why the hell did you come here?”</p><p>Her voice snapped, and she finally met his eyes.</p><p>“I told you to stay away from William, and you came here,” she took a deep breath, but Julien could hear notes of panic behind the usual snarky façade.</p><p>“You came here, too,” he reminded.</p><p>The girl only shook her head a little, unwilling to continued. She reached the lamp and pulled it closer.</p><p>“Can you hear them?”</p><p>Julien shook his head, “The rose…”</p><p>“Of course,” Scarlett let out an irritated sigh.</p><p>She started unscrewing the thin part of the handle, her fingers moving awkwardly as she used her injured hand. The man stared down watching her, silently, not wanting to attract any kind of attention to them. He couldn’t hear the vampires upstairs but they most likely could hear everything that was going on in the cell, and he wasn’t sure what made Angela leave so hastily.</p><p>“I think there was a phone call,” he said finally. “Before she left.”</p><p>Scarlett raised her head for a moment and then returned back to what she was doing. Finally, her efforts paid off, and she was holding two thing long pieces of rusty metal in her fingers. Bending over, she pushed one into the lock of the fetter and started moving it gently.</p><p>“Where’d you learned that?” Julien’s eyes widened a few moments later when the cuff fell onto the floor.</p><p>“Private Catholic school,” Scarlett got to her feet wincing in pain. “Now, be a good vampire and try to remember if you’ve heard anything else.”</p><p>She stepped closer to him and started fiddling with his handcuffs making Julien’s wrists burn with more pain. He growled lowly baring his teeth, and she tilted her head to look him in the eyes.</p><p>“Just bear with it, okay?” her voice turned suddenly soft and her fingers moved to caress his face. “Think of something else.”</p><p>The warmth of her skin against his was soothing, and the scent of her skin made him think of the night before, when he held her in his arms, and everything was simple. She got back to her task, and Julien forced his mind to go deeper into the memories, switching the picture of the cell to the picture of his room, and her body splayed on the bed under his.</p><p>The pain subsided, became just background noise.</p><p>He heard the cling of the cuffs – and then, his body almost crashing against the floor, Scarlett’s hands catching his fall half a second before he collapsed.</p><p>“Careful,” she whispered, lowering him onto the stone and trying to avoid touching his wounds.</p><p>He was barely able to move, the pain jolting through him, twisting and turning every single bone and muscle in his body, and he could only clench his fists not to cry out. She studied his face and then lowered her gaze to the wounds on his chest, her brows furrowed in thought.</p><p>“Blood should help, right?” she asked more herself than him. “Damn vampires.”</p><p>She unwrapped her hand, and the smell of iron hit the man’s nose. The bleeding almost stopped but all the cuts were still fresh, and he had to push himself back not to let his instinct take the best of him.</p><p>“Move… away,” his low raspy growl was dripping with agony.</p><p>“No,” Scarlett brought her hand to his face, her other hand pressing against the back of his head. “This will heal you, right?”</p><p>The desperation in his eyes was her answer.</p><p>“That’s what I thought,” she pressed the side of her hand to his mouth, and his lips parted against his will. “Drink.”</p><p>“No,” every cell of his body wanted it, he had to grasp at the wall behind him.</p><p>“Yes,” her hand pulled his hair roughly. “Drink, or I’ll cut my wrist and shove my hand down your throat. And trust me, it only sounds hot.”</p><p>She managed to make jokes. In the middle of that mess, she still managed to make fucking jokes. Julien’s hands grabbed hers as he sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of her palm, and her arm jerked ever so slightly before she went completely still.</p><p>He drunk her hastily, the blood running down his throat, making the wounds on his body heal, filling him with power that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Her blood was his source of strength, it was his life. Its taste was driving him insane, it was making him want more and more until there wasn’t a drop left.</p><p>As the thought rushed through his mind, Julien pushed the girl away so hard, she hit her back against the opposite wall.</p><p>“The hell?!” her eyes sparkled angrily as she looked at the blood running down her fingers.</p><p>“We should get out of here,” instead of an answer Julien pulled her up and tore off another sleeve of her dress, wrapping it tightly around the girl’s hand.</p><p>Their eyes met, and for a moment, everything stopped. He reached for her face, and his hand gripped her chin tilting her head up. For a split of a moment, all he could see was her eyes shining up at him – and then, her lips pressed to his, covered with her blood. She kissed him forcefully, deepening it from the start, making him groan into her mouth.</p><p>And then, they’ve heard a female scream, so loud, it almost deafened Julien.</p><p>“What the hell?!” he pulled away, his body arching into a bow as the man looked around.</p><p>Scarlett brushed her own blood off her bottom lip and smirked.</p><p>“I assume, daddy’s home.”</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Lady in Red.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy (slightly early) Bday to Suchi, who’s been always the biggest cheerleader ❤️</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julien’s eyes burned into her, and Scarlett huffed in irritation while she moved towards the cell door.</p><p>“Unlocked,” she rolled her eyes. “Vampires.”</p><p>She turned to the man who was still standing behind her, listening to the noise coming from the upper floor. It seemed like there was a fight, though there were no more screams, only the sounds of someone moving really fast.</p><p>“We should get out of here before one of your friends thinks to use us as leverage,” the redhead tugged on Julien’s hand. “And he hates being blackmailed.”</p><p>“Who’s he?”</p><p>Julien finally managed to shake himself into action, gripping the girl’s waist to make her stop and look him in the eye. She didn’t look scared, even though her body was so stiff he was surprised that she was still able to move at all. Her heart kept a steady beat, but her hands went cold, and her breath got caught in her throat.</p><p>Finally, she snapped her eyes up.</p><p>“My father. Andrew.”</p><p>With a loud clang, Julien’s jaw dropped.</p><p>“Andrew?” He repeated dumbfounded. “He’s your father? But that means…”</p><p>“That I’m half a vampire?” Scarlett prompted as she listened to the sounds of a struggle upstairs. “Took you some time.”</p><p>The girl tugged on his hand, and both of them finally moved through the corridor, both trying to digest all the developments. The redhead stumbled, and Julien’s arm wrapped around her waist keeping Scarlett on her feet, and her warm side pressed against his. He couldn’t believe it was even possible: Andrew had a daughter who worked at his club.</p><p>Now, all the little things finally started making sense. Her ability to make anyone trust her, her reflexes during her performance, her pathological lack of any fear of vampires – why would she be afraid of them if she was half-vampire herself?</p><p>“Shh,” he’s heard noises coming from somewhere close.</p><p>“I said nothing,” the girl whispered back with a scowl, and Julien rushed to press a palm to her lips.</p><p>With gestures, he told her to stay where she was while he goes upstairs, and the expression on her face spoke louder than any words. Julien pressed his lips against her ear and whispered, his breath ghosting on her sensitive skin, “Be a good half-vampire.”</p><p>She snorted viciously, but he was already on the upper stair.</p><p>Andrew stood before Albert and Angela’s bodies, both chained and motionless. Julien moved closer and saw multiple rose thorns stuck in their flesh, and he felt the phantom pain in his now healed wounds.</p><p>“Julien,” Andrew greeted him before the dark-haired man could’ve said anything and turned around.</p><p>Now, Julien felt stupid for not noticing this before: Andrew’s bright, emerald-green eyes stared mockingly at him, and these were <em>her </em>eyes. He didn’t know anything like that was even possible – and yet, Scarlett was the proof.</p><p>“Where’s my daughter?” the other vampire arched an eyebrow.</p><p>“She’s safe, downstairs.”</p><p>Just when he spoke those words, Scarlett’s scream pierced through the air making both men freeze for a split of a second before they rushed to the basement. Julien’s body went numb when he saw William behind Scarlett’s back, a sharp dagger pressed to her neck as the blond vampire greeted them with a crooked smirk.</p><p>“William,” Julien breathed out. “Let her go.”</p><p>The blade pressed harder against the porcelain skin, and a tiny drop of blood dripped on the dagger. Andrew, still calm and collected, took a step forward, his eyes turning into two ice cubes when he stared at the other vampire.</p><p>“You can let her go, and I’ll kill you fast and painless. Or, it can be decades of agony, your choice.”</p><p>William’s eyes sparkled wildly, and Julien realized that the man wasn’t going to let the girl go.</p><p>“You want to punish me,” the dark-haired man made another vain attempt. “Let her go, and you’ll get me.”</p><p>A bark of laughter filled the air.</p><p>“Let her go?” William repeated through clenched teeth. “No, Julien, I’ll make you watch how I kill her, she’ll be dying slowly and painfully, and you’ll be watching.”</p><p>Andrew shifted ever so slightly, and William tutted in disapproval.</p><p>“Sorry, Pops, nothing personal. Your daughter is paying for her own stupidity,” he grabbed Scarlett’s wrist, a movement so sharp and quick, she gasped in pain.</p><p>“You’re outnumbered,” Andrew’s voice remained calm, but Julien could feel the rage emanating from the man’s body in waves so strong, he wondered if they could actually knock the third vampire off his feet. “You won’t leave this house, I promise.”</p><p>William only laughed darkly, and this sound made the hair on the back of Julien’s neck stand on end. He wasn’t planning to leave the house, Julien realized. He just wanted to punish him the same way Julien once punished him. He took his love away from him, and now William was determined to return the debt.</p><p>“I knew you were up to something,” the blond man locked eyes with his once friend. “I didn’t know what, but something inside of me was screaming to go to Angela’s place. I found her on the floor in a puddle of her own blood, almost dead. I didn’t have any time to think, there was no time to call the doctors – and I turned her. It was the only way not to lose her.”</p><p>William’s voice cracked but he continued stubbornly, tightening his grip on Scarlett’s body to the point she could only take tiny gasps of air.</p><p>“But I’ve lost her that day. She was never the same. She hated what she’d become, hated every second of her existence… until you moved here. Until she got a chance to avenge herself.”</p><p>Everything has finally fallen into place. Why William agreed to help him, how he told him about Albert and made sure Julien knew exactly how Albert felt about him to make him go chasing after him. So Julien would’ve ended up in a trap. The only thing Julien couldn’t understand was Scarlett’s part in all of that.</p><p>William’s eyes narrowed as if he could read Julien’s thoughts, and he continued.</p><p>“I’ve been studying you for years before I found your weakness,” his hand moved, and now the tip of his dagger was pressed under Scarlett’s chin. “I knew that the moment you’ll see her, you won’t be able to resist. The rest of it was on this stupid little girl who got into trouble and was so scared to upset her daddy that she came for help to me.”</p><p>William chuckled at his own thoughts, and only then Julien realized how far away Andrew was now. Distracted with his own story, the blond man forgot about the other listener who was now halfway between them. With his eyes locked with his nemesis’, Julien took a step backward hoping that it’ll make William move forwards, mirroring his movements.</p><p>“You’ve used her to get to me,” he said just to keep the conversation going. “You’ve bet too much on a human.”</p><p>“Oh no,” the other man shook his head. “I’ve bet on the old Julien that I’ve known for so long. That same Julien that wanted to be <em>enthralled</em> – and that’s what this little fox is the best at, aren’t you?”</p><p>Scarlett didn’t have time to react. Everything happened so fast, Julien only barely made out the moment Andrew appeared behind William’s back, and the sound of cracking bones filled up the air. As if in slow-motion, Julien watched William’s body collapse onto the pebbled floor - motionless, his eyes wide open and lifeless.</p><p>And then, it was all over.</p><p>Andrew caught Scarlett into his arms, pressing the girl to his chest, whispering something to her, and Julien felt that he could finally breathe out. With a heavy sigh, he collapsed on one of the wine boxes and hid his face in the palms of his hands.</p><p>A few moments later, he felt Scarlett’s soft touch on his shoulder and looked up. She and Andrew stood before him, the other vampire looked collected and unfazed, as if it wasn’t him who couldn’t stop pressing his child to his chest just a few seconds ago.</p><p>“Go home, Julien,” Andrew said firmly. “Get some rest before the sun is up. We’ll talk later.”</p><p>The dark-haired man glanced at the body of his once almost brother, still motionless.</p><p>“Don’t worry about that,” Andrew followed his glance. “They’ll be taken care of.”</p><p>With that, the other vampire pressed his hand between Scarlett’s shoulder blades and pushed her slightly towards the stairs leaving Julien alone with William’s body. He wasn’t dead – it takes something more than a snapped neck to kill a vampire, but Julien doubted he was ever going to see him again.</p><p>Slowly, he squatted down next to the body and brushed the strands of long blond hair out of William’s face.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, brother.”</p><p>He left through the back door, not wanting to meet Andrew’s companions who have arrived already. The only thing he needed was a long shower and silence of his own home. And maybe, a new town to start everything over.</p><p>He stood on the decking outside his house, watching the sky turn slowly from black to blush as the tiny pinky-golden line on the horizon was growing wider.</p><p>“Enjoying the view?”</p><p>Scarlett’s voice snapped Julien out of his haze. The vampire turned abruptly, and his eyes fell onto the redhead.</p><p>“One of dad’s ball-breakers dropped me off,” the girl explained with a smirk, flipping her curls over her shoulder and the thin strap of her red slip-on dress fell off her shoulder. The silk fabric was flowing down her body, hugging her curves, and no one would’ve ever guessed that only a few hours ago she almost got killed by an angry vampire.</p><p>Her voice softened as she looked into Julien’s eyes.</p><p>“I’m sorry about your friend,” she said finally. “And I’m sorry for… everything.”</p><p>This was the first time Julien saw her vulnerable. Her eyes were full of regret, the pearls of her teeth scraping her bottom lip as she looked up, finally meeting his gaze.</p><p>For a moment, he couldn’t take his eyes off her, and then stepped closer and took her chin between his fingers.</p><p>“You almost died trying to make it right. I say we’re even.”</p><p>Her eyes widened as she searched for something in his face – and then, her lips stretched in a smug grin that made his stomach explode with hundreds of colorful butterflies.</p><p>“You still owe me one, remember?”</p><p>Julien rolled his eyes in mock exasperation.</p><p>“You’ve tricked me and made me believe you were helping me – and yet, you want your favor back?”</p><p>“Exactly,” the redhead tipped forward, erasing any space between them.</p><p>“Fine,” Julien’s lips went suddenly dry. “What do you want?”</p><p>Scarlett’s eyes sparkled as the girl stood on her tiptoes and weaved her arms around the vampire’s neck, her hot breath burning on his skin as she whispered softly.</p><p>“Kiss me, Julien.”</p><p>His lips found her the same moment, hungry and tender, his hands grasping at her body as the scarlet sunrise broke across the skies.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks everyone for reading this story, I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you guys like it!<br/>___________________________<br/>All the comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and make my day ♥️</p>
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